FACING DOWN THE ULTIMATE FORCE

Hogg insists Scots won’t stand back and admire All Blacks

IT must be impossible not to get just a little dazzled. Difficult, certainly, to avoid viewing everything through the haze of history — illustrious, all-conquering, invincible lore — that follows the All Blacks around like some 16th man.

How do a Scotland team made to look very mortal by poor, bankrupt, tier-two-and-sinking Samoa dare to even dream of beating the sporting demigods of New Zealand?

They start by acknowledging the scale of the challenge. And then, exactly like opponents universally acknowledged as the best in the world, the plucky challengers focus on the fundamentals of rugby.

The men asked to surmount a seemingly impossible challenge by new(ish) head coach Gregor Townsend at least know that they’ll have a plan ready to roll by tea-time on Saturday.

The key to cracking this Kiwi code? Refusing to let respect for the legend overtake the levels of insolence upon which any shock victory depend.

‘We’re not going out there to stand back, watch and admire the All Blacks, are we?’ said Stuart Hogg, leaving the rhetorical question hanging in the air for no more time than it takes Beauden Barrett to spot a gap in the opposition line.

‘We’re going to be in a position to shut them down defensively. If not, it’s going to be an awfully long day. But we do that by concentrating on ourselves and looking to improve on the back of the Samoa performance.

‘What better opportunity than playing the All Blacks at home? We’ve got a very intelligent group of coaches who, no doubt, have a game plan ready to go.

‘And, look, we’ve all played the All Blacks at some stage in our careers. So we know that if you stand back and admire them, it’s going to be a long day.

‘Everybody watches the All Blacks. We know what they’re capable of.

‘But we’ll have our game plan ready to go and, yeah, what better opportunity is there than playing the All Blacks at home?

‘They’re the best team in the world. So bring it on.

‘We are more than capable of knocking them over. If you don’t believe that, you are in the wrong place.’

Without belief, a team is nothing. As for how Scotland maintain a level of assurance when facing a