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Rugby Union

Hadden defends selections

23/09/2007

Scotland coach Frank Hadden has defended his decision to play a weakened team in the 40-0 thumping by New Zealand.

Hadden fielded an under-strength side because of Saturday's crunch pool C clash with Italy.

The All Blacks scored three tries in each half through Richie McCaw, Byron Kelleher Dan Carter, Ali Williams and a brace from Doug Howlett.

Hadden insisted it was not a gamble to make wholesale changes to his starting lineup.

"What it did was provide an excellent opportunity for some guys to put their hands up for selection. I'm delighted that I've got a team that can practise tomorrow," Hadden said.

"The New Zealand performance was pretty impressive and they fully deserved to win."

"It was a gutsy performance. I would perhaps have like a bit more accuracy. We have to have a look at what happened in the scrum. Considering what happened in the first 15 to 20 minutes we recovered pretty well.

"I thought that new boys Ally Dickinson and John Barclay did very well considering they were up against the best players in the world in their positions. It was a great learning experience for them."

Meanwhile, captain Scott Murray said it was good to get a full 80 minutes of rugby.

"The game was a great experience for the new boys," Murray said.

"This New Zealand side is right up there with the best I've played against. We let ourselves down by making some silly errors."