Cotter: Nerves can help my team

VERN Cotter believes the butterflies in Scotland’s stomachs can help his side soar when they take on Ireland at Murrayfield tomorrow.

The Dark Blues head coach confessed his team may have to shake off some firstnight nerves when they open their RBS 6 Nations campaign.

However, he believes the tension he has sensed around the squad means his team have their minds firmly focused on shooting down Joe Schmidt’s men.

“It’s an exciting start,” said the Kiwi, who departs at the end of the tournament.

“Ireland have just beaten the All Blacks, they’ve beaten Australia and South Africa. These are not one-off results.

“Consistently they’re a good team, so we get the chance to measure ourselves against them.

“I can feel a nervousness within the group. They know it’s a big game. They’re ready to roll their sleeves up and have a go.

“I think being a little bit nervous means you’re sharper and more on edge. You need that. You need to be wary of the opposition. Especially against these guys.

“We need to be sharp. We need to be able to adapt. They’ll have plays we haven’t seen, we need to adapt to them.”

However, regardless of Cotter’s thought, Scotland have every right to be apprehensive ahead of their opening clash.

It’s 11 years since they started the tournament with a win, while they face an Ireland side who they have beaten just three times since 2000.

However, those facts have done little to dilute the confidence generated by the Scots’ autumn displays, where they ran Australia close ahead of comfortable wins against Argentina and Georgia.

Cotter added: “We’ve continually been trying to improve. That’s the only thing you can do.”