Hands up who’s ready for the Six Nations?
Scotland shaping up for Ireland opener:
THE upturn in fortunes can be measured in the sense of swagger suddenly surging through the home camp, certainly. But Scotland’s budding revival is also reflected in the altered attitudes of opponents.
Vern Cotter earned credit among his peers for painstakingly laying firm foundations. The ongoing European adventures of both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh have forced Six Nations rivals to take note.
‘I think there is more respect,’ said Matt Taylor, well aware of visiting teams’ past tendency to view Scotland as inevitable also-rans — a side to be patronised, patted on the head and then put away with points to spare.
The Scotland and Glasgow defence coach added: ‘During the autumn Tests, I got a chance to talk to the coaches of all three opponents. They all showed great respect for us.
‘In combination with what we’ve done over the past couple of years, as a national team in the World Cup and now with the clubs doing so well in Europe, a lot of sides now take us seriously. Hopefully they don’t actually take us seriously — because we’ll beat them!
‘If we can harness that feelgood factor the guys are enjoying at club level and replicate it here, we feel that definitely gives us a chance. The boys have come in with a spring in their step. They’re really excited and full of confidence — and I’m sure that will translate into performances in the Six Nations.
‘Of the whole squad, there are only four guys who aren’t involved in Europe — and one of them is Huw Jones, who plays on a different continent. So they are all really buoyant.
‘It’s been an excellent weekend for Scottish rugby. That has come off the back of a lot of hard work over many years, starting at the top and filtering down to all the coaches. It’s great.
‘But I think there’s more improvement in us. We just need to keep our feet on the ground.
‘We’ve got real depth through the squad now. Good teams become great teams when you have a lot of depth. Over the last year or two, we have created that depth with guys coming through.
‘I look at our Under-20s side and I think it’s great to see for Scottish rugby, because that depth is really building.
‘Now we need to grasp this opportunity, with everything going so well for us. We’ve done a lot of learning over the last year or two. We’re at a point where we need to make sure those learning opportunities are translated into wins. This year, with what we’ve done at club level, hopefully that can lead on to some good performances in the Six Nations.’
The fact that Scotland open their Championship at home to Ireland may temper some of the optimism created by Edinburgh reaching the last eight of the Challenge Cup and, more substantively and spectacularly, Glasgow shutting out Leicester 43-0 to book a place in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
To say the Irish have held the whip hand over their Celtic cousins in recent years would be an understatement. Their last visit to Murrayfield saw them put 40 points on the board in a run chase that secured them a second successive Six Nations title. Since the old Five Nations embraced professionalism and added Italy to the pack at the turn of the millennium, Ireland have chalked up an astonishing 14 Championship wins over Scotland.
‘I think maybe in the last couple of years it’s been tough,’ admitted Taylor. ‘A couple of years ago at Murrayfield, obviously they had to run in a certain number of points — and we had a few injuries. Last year was a wee bit similar.
‘We’re excited that we’re playing at home and playing them first, which gives us two weeks to prepare for them. We’re disappointed we haven’t been able to perform as well as we’d like against them in recent years. So I think you will find us very highly motivated — and ready to get right in amongst them.’
Stuart Hogg, reigning Six Nations Player of the Championship, former Lion and noted game-breaker for Glasgow and Scotland, epitomises the new belief surging through Cotter’s squad.
‘We have had a huge amount of confidence before. But this year, the club sides are going well and there are boys in form,’ said Hogg, who rarely looked more gleefully threatening than in the weekend dismantling of Leicester.
‘We are excited by the challenges that come our way. There is no better competition than the Six Nations to be involved in. Here’s hoping we get off to a good start.
‘Vern kept a bit of balance today. His message was basically to play with the confidence to try things — within the gameplan — go out and express ourselves and have some fun.
‘We are coming in with a good bit of confidence, with the club sides going well. It’s good that the boys are smiling and excited about the challenges ahead.
‘Because the clubs are doing well, that means the players are playing well as individuals. Here’s hoping everybody can continue their form in a Scotland jersey.’
On his fast-approaching 49th and 50th caps, Hogg said he couldn’t have imagined making it this far, insisting: ‘Absolutely not. The dream was always to play for my country. There’s no better feeling than wearing the Scotland jersey. You need to make the most of it.’