CHANGING THE RECORD

Focused Hines casts aside the shackling stereotypes in favour of Scottish progress

“Everyone just wants to start rolling and get the first win”

IT’S Time. Time to change the narrative. To permanently adjust the terms of the conversation. maybe even make the voices stop … if that doesn’t sound too unbalanced.

The build-up to this afternoon’s Six Nations opener between Scotland and england at murrayfield has been peppered, as usual, with i ncreasingly unnecessary background chatter about the Calcutta Cup representing a be-all, end-all fixture for the plucky local underdogs.

The stereotype of the haggisspitting Scots rising up to be the nation again, sending proud eddie’s army homeward etc ad nauseum — it’s all about as relevant to these players, this coaching staff, as an overwrought sixth-form essay on Culloden.

Sportsmail’s own Sir Clive Woodward, Lord Carling of Soundbite and assorted other english legends have spent the past week stressing time and again how much this game means to the Scots, with Sir Clive even suggesting that any victory over england becomes a career-defining moment for our boys.

Well forgive us if, following a World Cup that saw Vern Cotter’s men transform their standing among f ans, we dare to believe in a Scotland with more important goals and ambitions than merely sating the mild patriotic bloodlust of the Tartan Army officer class.

This game is critical not because of the opposition, but because it provides Scotland with a chance to build on their autumn progress.

if that opportunity comes with an obligatory ‘or else’ warning, well, again it has nothing to do with england being on the other side of the field later today.

For this is a Championship campaign that must deliver results for Scotland, who have won their opening Six Nations fixture just once, defeating France in edinburgh precisely a decade ago.

Failing to beat england would make it harder for Cotter’s team to achieve any degree of respectability. Winning would allow Scotland, humiliatingly whitewashed last season, to dream of actually finishing higher than fifth in the table.

That has to be how the current generation of players approach this game; unencumbered by history, untroubled by blood-and-snotters rallying cries or cock- eyed perceptions of their place in this ancient rivalry.

Scotland coach Nathan Hines (below) hit the mark dead centre yesterday when he insisted: ‘it’s the first Test match in the Six Nations, which is a great tournament, and everyone wants to get off to a good start no matter what team you’re playing for.

‘There is expectation, a bit of excitement, everyone just wants to get rolling and start with a win.

‘The fact it is england doesn’t make a huge amount of difference. We’re still looking for the same thing. We want to get off to a good start.

‘Personally, it didn’t matter who i was playing. i just wanted to win. it didn’t matter what game or who it was. i don’t think it has any more needle because it is england.

‘The guys are focused on winning. They are all competitive by nature and i think that sometimes being too competitive can be your undoing.

‘Focusing on the fact that it is a certain team? i don’t think that is a help.’

Now, this will never be j ust another game. There’s a reason why the Beeb, generally about as interested in sport as your dear old mum, are beaming coverage to Tim Peake in the international Space Station.

But you do get the feeling that, perhaps because they win so often, the visitors get more of a kick out of this fixture than the hosts.

They certainly like to play up the whole ‘stepping into the lions’ den’ aspect of these trips to Scotland’s capital; that might explain why eddie Jones and his brave warriors have refused to expose themselves to questions by the ‘aggressive local media’ given an honorary mention by Sir Clive, choosing to stage all of their preview events close to the safety of HQ.

if the pre-match favourites — just look at the odds — have any reason to fear an upset, though, it’ll have far more to do with rugby than rabble rousing.

Speed, speed and speed will be the absolute key f or Scotland, who have focused on the breakdown — and picked a back r ow to t urn every impact zone into a potential for mayhem.

When the ball is there to be stripped, stolen or snaffled on the deck, technique and the teachings of new contact coach Richie Gray will matter more than the colour of the opposition jersey.

While attention on the unstructured part of the game may sound like merely a refocusing of attention on Scotland’s traditional scavenger instincts, Cotter has also declared his intent to take england on in areas where they usually dominate.

if we didn’t know better, we might suspect that the softly-spoken Kiwi fancies his chances of administering a comprehensive doing to Jones on his Six Nations debut. That would be nice for reasons way beyond tribalism. it might even convince the most consistent

cynics that this season, at long last, Scotland could shake off the most enduring tradition of all — Six Nations failure.

Not that anyone is getting carried away, with the slew of tries conceded in the World Cup — and the continued tendency to start games with all the oomph of a teenager being asked to rise before noon — still causing concern among the coaching staff.

‘As a team, as a management team, the squad are very realistic about our performance,’ said Hines.

‘ The only expectation t hat matters to us is what we put on ourselves. The expectations of the public won’t help us, good or bad.

‘We are very realistic about our performance and we are always wanting to improve.

‘if that means looking at ourselves with a dose of reality, then we will do that.’

Balanced, driven, determined to do well for themselves, their families and the country that lends its support to them every year. Scotland start this Six Nations in a pretty good place.

in order to get a victory that would set the tone for a Championship of genuine possibilities, they’ll need to retain that single-minded focus on the key elements where this game will be won and lost.

The pride, passion, pomp and ceremony inevitably associated with a game kicking off under darkening edinburgh skies will undoubtedly add to the sense of occasion.

As ever, it should be great fun. But a lot more enjoyable if the boys do a serious number on the opposition. Whoever they might be.