Win has Scotland on a high

SCOTLAND head coach Vern Cotter believes his team’s thrilling 27-22 opening day win at home to Ireland has “changed the dynamics” of their Six Nations campaign.

Having let slip a 21-5 lead to trail Ireland 22-21 midway through the second half, two penalties in the last eight minutes by captain Greig Laidlaw secured Scotland’s first victory in an opening Six Nations fixture since they beat France in 2006 – potentially putting them in contention for their first Championship title in 18 years.

“It certainly changes the dynamic,” said Cotter, who is aiming to finish his three-year tenure on a high before making way for Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend in June.

“You can feel it. You start the Six Nations with a win and everybody speaks about it.

“But it’s only one game. I know the feet will be on the ground very quickly come Monday morning, just to make sure we back this up with another good performance.”

Next up for Cotter’s side are France away on Sunday. Scotland have not won in Paris since 1999, when Townsend inspired them to their last Championship success, in the final year of the Five Nations.

They will certainly travel with renewed confidence, having rocked Ireland, who beat the All Blacks in November, with a dynamic first half performance that yielded two tries for the brilliant fullback Stuart Hogg and a cunning score directly from a line out by centre Alex Dunbar.

“The last time we were in Paris we were close to winning,” said Laidlaw, referring to a 19-16 loss in a World Cup warm up in September 2015.

“We can take heart out of that and I think we’ve moved forward even since then.”

Asked if Scotland’s target for the championship had been changed by the victory, Laidlaw (who returned a perfect placekicking record, with three conversions and two penalties) replied: “We want to win the next game. If we win the next game, we’ll be in a good position.” — AFP