Scotland's Rory Lamont (with ball) scores his second try against Romania this morning. Photo / Reuters
Six tries to none, keeping the opposition scoreless, sounds a pretty good dress rehearsal for the Scots ahead of their big pool C World Cup clash with the All Blacks on Sunday.
But the 42-0 scoreline against hapless Romania couldn't disguise the fact the Scots were dreadfully
careless with the ball.
The number of times a Scottish player took the ball into contact and out it spilled on the Romanian side pointed to sloppiness which a half decent All Black side will punish.
Scotland got off to the perfect start with the fastest cup try, scored by captain Chris Paterson in the second minute.
They had the game wrapped up by halftime and although they doubled their score in the second spell and put together some good passages, they will need to take a vast step up to match the All Blacks.
And that's without even going into the issue of whether their coach Frank Hadden opts to rest his best players ahead of their crunch clash wtih Italy in St Etienne on September 29 or decides to have a decent lash at the All Blacks.
He wasn't saying after the match, rather opting for the 'pick each team to suit the game' line he's put out since before the cup began.
"In this tournament, in my opinion, it's very difficult to talk about what is your first team," Hadden said.
"It's just the next team, and the next team we pick will ho fully be the side to get the result we need on Sunday."
And the positives? The Scots won and with a valuable bonus point to sit six points clear of group rivals Italy.
They have a couple of top class backs in fullback Rory Lamont and halfback Mike Blair.
First five-eighth Dan Parks unveiled an impressive kicking game, and should have solved their problem position of centre with the sparky display of Simon Webster.
The loose forward trio, in which openside flanker Ally Hogg scored three tries, are diligent and combative and big lock Jim Hamilton should ensure Scotland get their share of possession.
But Scotland could have scored another two or three tries such was the paucity of Romania's performance.
When they look at the tape of the match, however,they will know a team with more savvy and skill than the Romanians would have punished them for their casualness.
Scotland name their side to face the All Blacks on Friday.
