HERO WE GO
Stand-in skipper insists Scots will honour greats
STUART McINALLY and Co only need to look at their peg inside the dressing room today to see the greats they are entrusted to emulate.
And with nothing but pride left to play for at Murrayfield, Scotland’s stand-in skipper is adamant they will honour heroes of the past when they face a team out to achieve Grand Slam greatness in the present.
Hooker McInally insists the Dark Blues are determined not to suffer a Six Nations write-off against Wales.
Back-to-back defeats against Ireland and France have derailed a campaign that began with hope of a championship challenge in the wake of a 33-20 win over Italy.
Harking back to the halcyon days when Scotland were capable of claiming the title is something McInally admits has been an inspiration.
Not just that but a reminder they should never be making up the numbers against the Welsh.
The 28-year-old said: “The players are determined to put in a performance everybody is proud of, first of all within the group then within the whole stadium – everybody supporting Scotland.
“It is not something we ever take lightly pulling on that Scotland jersey. As a group we talk about it a lot and constantly relate back to the history of the thistle and the people who have worn it before us.
“The people who come to support us will see a bunch of boys working really hard and doing everything we can to get the win.
“In the changing rooms, when you look on your peg there’s a list of everyone who has worn the jersey before you. Not that you would ever be likely to forget about the history this jersey has.
“But there are so many ways to be motivated for Scotland. That’s just one of them.
“We look back to the 1990 Grand Slam. We’ve seen a lot of those clips over the last few years. We take inspiration from teams before us who have worn the thistle and won something.
“As a group we get very excited to think we could join them and be as successful as they were.
“We know that to get there we need to work so hard. There are numerous examples of Scotland games we take inspiration from.”
The challenge against Warren Gatland’s unbeaten outfit is to combine guile and resilience.
And McInally believes his side will front up in all departments in a bid to give a sold-out stadium something to shout about.
He said: “It’s about fighting fire with fire. We want to make sure we’re dominating the collisions. It’s not just going to happen.
“We’ve trained well this week and have a focus on being physical because that’s the way Wales play. They are an excellent team.”
Scotland’s failure to justify their pre-tournament tag as potential challengers has had mitigating factors such as a lengthy crocked
list. But McInally said: “It’s too simplistic to say injuries have been an issue. That’s not the reason we have fallen short.
“We’ve not been accurate enough with ball in hand as we have been in previous games.”
McInally will deputise as captain with Greig Laidlaw starting on the bench. And he’s adamant the signs are of a determined team with a united front.
He added: “There is a group who are the starters then a group who aren’t involved – and they are so important for us to bring that intensity. You have to replicate that in training – that intensity – so it’s not a surprise when you come to the game.
“The best performances I’ve been involved in have been when you can feel that edge in training. And we’ve had that this week.”
It is not something we ever take lightly pulling on that jersey STUART McINALLY ON PRIDE WEARING THISTLE