Sean Maitland wants Scots to perform in perfect harmony
SCOTLAND’S inability to start the RBS 6 Nations Championship with a win has been well recorded. On the flip side, they have rarely started against Ireland, and only once at Murrayfield.
So while they acknowledge that Ireland – still celebrating their win over New Zealand in November and who beat Australia just after the Wallabies had beaten Scotland – are a formidable team, there is still a vein of confidence running through the side.
“We’ve been confident in the past without really backing it up,” admitted Sean Maitland, the wing. “Now we have so many guys with the X-factor, so many game-changers. We know how we want to play, we’ve established that. We’re not starting from scratch any more, we’re coming in and picking up from where we left off.
“We feel if we can get off to a good start then anything is possible. We have this reputation of starting off slow and that’s something we want to lose.”
Since the first Six Nations in 2000 opened with Scotland losing to Italy, they have won only once – against France in 2006. On the other hand, they have only twice played Ireland first – France with seven fixtures and England with five, have dominated Scotland’s opening week – three years ago in Dublin and 14 years ago in Murrayfield. Both were defeats but it’s hard to spot many parallels.
“Especially at home you want to make your mark,” Maitland added. “The boys are really pumped for it. We’ve got three home games and they’re all winnable. The boys are ready. I really think we can do something in this year’s Six Nations, this is the strongest Scotland squad I have ever been involved with.”
He is a wing, so the main reason behind his optimism is the quality in the backs, where there is now the creative edge that has been so lacking in Scotland teams over the last decade and a half.
“We’ve got Hoggy [Stuart Hogg], Matt Scott, Duncy Taylor coming back. We’ve got Alex Dunbar and Tommy Seymour too,” Maitland added. “I know what I can bring and let’s not forget about Greig [Laidlaw] and Finn [Russell]. There is so much strength and depth now. I get really excited when I see the names in our backline, it’s world class. We have a strong pack, too.”
Forwards – there’s the real crunch. There is no point in having the best backs in the game if they never get the ball and Ireland are confident they have the power up front.
Which makes the front row a key battle zone, with Allan Dell, likely to keep his spot, alongside Ross Ford and Zander Fagerson, to win his fourth cap, his first in the Six Nations. “The pressure externally and individually – as a team and as individuals – is a lot higher,” Dell acknowledged. “In November you obviously have the mindset of how you want to take a team forward but you also experiment. Coming into this competition, if you make one mistake and lose a game then you are out of the running.”
His personal challenge could not be tougher. Tadhg Furlong, the Ireland tighthead, has been the form prop in Europe ever since he helped demolish the All Blacks in November.
“I’ve only seen one game of his,” Dell said. “The All Blacks game, which is where, I think, everyone first really took notice of him. From the clips I’ve watched this week he’s a strong man, a good player, good around the park, a modern-day prop. People aren’t wrong putting him in with a shout for the Lions. It’s an eight-man scrum these days. In the past it was more individual battles. Now, if you stick to your structure, and the man next to you sticks to his structure, then you’ll be fine.”
If the structures work and the ball comes Scotland’s way, then both Dell and Maitland are confident they have the firepower to make sure a historic second Six Nations opening day win can come their way.