Scotland lacked accuracy and energy in the opening quarter of their defeat to Ireland according to coach Gregor Townsend.
In their World Cup opener in Yokohama, Scotland conceded four tries in a 27-3 defeat, including two in the first 15 minutes.
Townsend admitted that was a huge frustration, with Scotland having also conceded the opening try in four of their five 2019 Guinness Six Nations encounters.
And with a crucial match against Samoa coming up in eight days, Townsend knows his team will need to bounce back and fast.
He said: “It is disappointing. We didn’t start with the energy, accuracy and aggression that is required to beat a team like Ireland. They took their chances well when they got into our 22.
“If you give any team in world rugby a 15 to 20-point start, it is going to be very difficult to come back.
“They just converted mistakes into territory, and mistakes into points. They have a template we all know about and if you give them chances in your third of the field, you can’t afford to do that.
“We need to win our next three matches, regardless of the result here. We have to bounce back and play a lot better against Samoa, Russia and Japan, who started the tournament well.”
Scotland are also sweating over the fitness of Hamish Watson, with the flanker going off with a knee injury shortly before half-time.
His Edinburgh teammate Magnus Bradbury is already out in Japan in case they do need to call up a replacement, while Townsend was impressed with the way Fraser Brown coped when called to play at openside in place of Watson.
And while this was a frustrating defeat for Scotland, Townsend remains confident that Scotland can get out of the pool and through to the quarter-finals.
He added: “When you don’t play your best in your first game of a World Cup, then you will obviously be disappointed. We didn’t show the best version of ourselves.
“We must play much better in our next three games if we are going to get out of our pool and progress into the quarter-finals and I believe we will.”
