World Cup game has gone now... but Scotland will be well fired up for this

FOR Scotland, it is a moment that continues to linger, the pain of ‘what if’ seemingly eternally etched in their minds. Only last week, in fact, skipper Greig Laidlaw offered his own confirmation that the aftershocks of last year’s controversial World Cup quarter-final defeat to Australia were still being acutely felt by his squad.

Ask the Wallabies, however, and it is a different story; the method and madness of their last-gasp 35-34 victory at Twickenham now a mere footnote in their long and varied rugby history.

In truth, they were hardly the villains of the piece — simply the beneficiaries of first, Scotland’s failure to hold their nerve at a line-out, and then referee Craig Joubert’s flawed appraisal of what followed.

For Aussie head coach Michael Cheika, arriving in Edinburgh yesterday ahead of Saturday’s meeting at Murrayfield, the match is firmly in the past, overtaken by events in what has been a topsy-turvy 12 months.

Last weekend’s impressive 32-8 win over Wales was a far cry from this year’s Rugby Championship, where Cheika had to take his fair share of personal criticism as his side failed to muster a serious challenge to the All Blacks.

Certainly, a clean sweep of the northern hemisphere nations on this tour would do much for the Aussie’s reputation. But Cheika acknowledges that, for whatever reason, his side will be facing a fired-up Scotland come the weekend — with 66,000 fans demanding a revenge of sorts.

‘Scotland will be well up for the game regardless and I don’t think the World Cup will come into it,’ he said.

‘It is a first home Test match for Scotland this autumn in front of their home crowd. Last year’s game has gone.

‘My role within our team is to focus exclusively on our lads. It is how we are preparing and our mental state that is important to me. Scotland’s motivations, well, you will have to ask them.

‘Different people have different approaches, but we are thinking of the future and our plans for what we can do going forward.

‘We know Scotland are going to come out firing. There is not a game at Murrayfield where I haven’t seen Scotland do that.

‘All the games are a moment in time like the one we had against Wales last weekend. Even that is in the past now and everything is re-set for this week, and we have to deal with what we are confronted with at Murrayfield on Saturday.’

This is Cheika’s first visit to Murrayfield as head coach of Australia, but he is no stranger to the ground.

As Leinster boss from 2005 to 2010, he was a frequent visitor there to take on Edinburgh and also to Firhill, where Glasgow Warriors used to play before their move to Scotstoun.

The Scotland players are no mystery to him, either.

‘The Gray brothers (Richie and Jonny) are quality and they will give Scotland a good set-piece against us,’ he continued.

‘Laidlaw is a very fine player, he orchestrates the team and Finn Russell is a good foil. He will run at the line, and the full-back Stuart Hogg has good footwork and can launch attacks from the back.

‘I coached against Glasgow and Edinburgh back in those days with Leinster and Scottish rugby is in a good state.

‘Glasgow are the dominant force in the Guinness Pro12 — they have a lot of fine players and that will come out in the national team when they play us.’

The Australians arrived in Scotland buoyed by their emphatic victory over the Welsh. Down Under, the display was warmly received — with some commentators claiming their first-half performance, when they led 20-3 going into the break, as among the best 40 minutes ever played by an Aussie side.

‘On the day, I was very pleased, but we have achieved nothing yet,’ said Cheika (below). ‘I toured in the northern hemisphere in 2014 and we started off with a win over Wales like we did this time, then lost the next game. ‘We are coming up against the best players from every country, every weekend, over the next few weeks. The Scotland players won’t be thinking about the Australia v Wales game, so why should I?’ Cheika’s hand has also been strengthened for the weekend by the return of Will Genia to his squad, after the scrum-half missed the Wales game.

His club, Stade Francais, had refused to release him for the first match of the tour as it fell outside the international window.

‘It feels great to be back in the camp. I watched the Wales game in the hotel and thought all the boys played so well,’ the 28-year-old said yesterday. ‘They looked clinical and sharp, and they played at pace. ‘You could sense a real positivity in the group and a good vibe when I arrived at our hotel. That does happen when you win well, but we know we have to park it, leave it behind and concentrate on the game on Saturday. ‘From my point of view, I have to do well in training to try and get a place in the matchday squad, and that is what I want to do. ‘As a team it will be hard, if not harder, for us against a Scotland team that will be well prepared and ready for us. ‘I love playing at Murrayfield, even though I have lost there in the past. That was in 2009, when we scored a late try but missed the last-minute conversion to win it. ‘I also lost to Scotland in Australia. The weather was dreadful and we lost. But we beat them the last time I played at Murrayfield, and also beat them in the World Cup quarter-final.

‘This is always a special game for me as Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, and game day at Murrayfield is something special. You have the laser show, the piper on the roof. It is an amazing atmosphere.

‘It would be good to go three-two up in my record against Scotland, but playing them at home is tough. We did beat them in the World Cup and everybody knows how close that game was.

‘Whatever has gone before, for me to represent my country is enough motivation to make me want to win. Whatever happens in the past you have to deal with it and move on.’

For Scotland, a victory on Saturday would certainly help in that regard.