«HORNE REVEALS SUPER SCOTS ARE A TEAM THAT EXPECTS TO WIN
Horne hails the changed mindset of a stylish and smiling side
THE ADMISSION goes hand in hand with the declaration, combining to give an idea of how far Scotland have come — and where they might end up. ‘We’ve been talking about how the belief in the squad is really changing,’ confessed Peter Horne, the most versatile joker in Gregor Townsend’s magical bag of tricks.
‘Probably in the last few years, you wouldn’t leave the changing room thinking: “We’re going to beat this Australian side today. We’re going to go out and beat Australia.” That was certainly the mood in the camp this time.
‘But we really need to keep kicking on. We don’t want to take one step forward and two back.
‘It’s important that we knuckle down in the next few months — and come out all guns blazing in the Six Nations.’
The memory of Saturday’s spectacular thrashing of the Wallabies is going to sustain plenty of Scots between now and the Championship kicking off in February.
For the players, the sheer thrill of playing for Townsend, of performing in front of a crowd who can’t help but be won over by their panache and passion, is obvious.
‘We’re having a ball out there,’ explained Horne, pressed into the inside-centre’s role when Alex Dunbar was ruled out on Friday. ‘There are smiles on faces and that’s the way we want to play.
‘Against New Zealand, we made a bit of a statement, showing that if we keep hold of the ball we can cut up one of the best teams in the world.
‘Thankfully, we have backed that up against a really good Aussie side and put them to the sword. Maybe in the past we’ve not been clinical enough. So eight tries is pretty cool.
‘In the past against teams, we’ve maybe tried not to lose the game rather than trying to win it, especially with 20 or 30 minutes to go. That’s gone now.
‘The only thing Gregor will ever fault you on is work rate. If you’re not working hard, then you’re not going to play.
‘He doesn’t ever put the shackles on expressing yourself. He encourages Finn Russell, myself, Ali Price and the boys to go out there and express ourselves.
‘That was my first time playing with Huw Jones in the centre. I really liked it.
‘I try my best to make him look good — and thankfully he keeps finishing the tries.
‘He’s got a great outside break but he’s almost like the Fijians, in a way, because when you try to tackle him, he just shrugs tacklers off with his hips. He’s so powerful.’
Comfortably a stone-and-a-bit lighter than Glasgow team-mate Dunbar, Horne — a player of genuine guile — knows precisely what the reaction would have been when his pal failed to pass the return-to-play protocols, following the concussion sustained against the All Blacks.
‘As soon as I go in there next to Finn, there is a perception that we’re two lightweight guys,’ admitted Horne.
‘But it’s something we both relish. We want to get out there and get stuck in.
‘So, although I got sat on my backside by (Australian No 8 Sean) McMahon off that kick-off, bar that one it went okay!
‘Last season, I was maybe a bit off the ball on defence. But it’s an aspect of my game that is really coming back again. That’s something Alex is brilliant at. I aspire to be like him a bit more.
‘He defends so well, he’s our defensive leader. When I come in, I’ve got to fill those shoes.
‘We had a goal in the backs of allowing no set-piece line breaks by Australia — and I don’t think they got through.’
Whether or not the defensive performance of Scotland was quite so impressive overall, we’ll park that to one side for a moment.
What mattered most to the players about Saturday’s blow-out was that they pounced on every advantage. Including playing at home.
Asked to quantify the value of playing in front of fans absolutely besotted by the brand of rugby being played, Horne said: ‘It’s giving me goosebumps just thinking about it. Even at the start of the game with the anthem.
‘Last week, it felt like the whole stadium was vibrating. It was the same this week. It’s hard to not get emotional but it’s special.
‘It’s something Barcs (captain John Barclay) has spoken loads about, making this place a fortress, so teams don’t want to come up here.
‘I think we’ve laid down another marker against Australia. It shows we weren’t a flash in the pan last
week. We’ve come out and produced the goods.
‘We want to make this place a fortress going into the Six Nations. I think everyone has got to take us seriously now.
‘England will still fancy themselves. They are flying and have a real winning culture. They’ll always back themselves.
‘But it’s a challenge we can’t wait for. That’s the feeling in the camp.
‘We want to take on the best in the world and test ourselves against them. It will be great to face England and France at home — and Ireland are flying too.
‘The Six Nations is going to be really competitive but we can’t wait.’