Let’s pass Hansen test with win over Wallabies
AS All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen pointed out in his exclusive Sportsmail interview, Scotland can’t be considered a world-class side until they prove they can regularly compete with the best.
A winning performance against Australia in the final autumn Test would go a long way towards showing they are on the right road.
After coming so close to beating New Zealand with a thrilling display at Murrayfield, Gregor Townsend’s team go into Saturday’s game with huge expectation on their shoulders.
In some quarters they are even favourites. The question is this: can they handle it?
Our national team have been in this position before, of course.
The fabulous 24-19 win over the Wallabies in Sydney in June, in what was only Townsend’s second game in charge, suggested a brave new dawn. So what happened next?
Scotland were put to the sword just a week later by a Leone Nakarawa-inspired Fiji in a 27-22 loss in Suva.
If they can play to their full potential this weekend, then a second consecutive victory over Michael Cheika’s men is on the cards.
And that would be quite a statement against a side still smarting from defeat to Eddie Jones’ England at Twickenham and desperate to bounce back in style this weekend.
Collapse in front of a full house at Murrayfield, however, and the old failings of not being able to back up a good performance will have returned to haunt Scotland. You would like to think it will be the former, especially after Scotland so visibly grew in stature against the world’s best team last Saturday. The confidence they will have taken from being a Beauden Barrett tackle on Stuart Hogg away from a draw, possibly even a win, will have been huge. They certainly have players who are talented enough to go head-to-head with any opponent, no matter the pedigree. Hogg, John Barclay and Finn Russell all showed that by proving a constant worry for the All Blacks. Looking to the future, openside Hamish Watson (pictured) and centre Huw Jones also have the potential to be world-class performers in dark blue. The ingredients are all there to make Townsend’s side one of the best in the game. Let’s hope they are now in a position to pass Hansen’s consistency test with flying colours.