IN WITH A SHOUT

Rivals queue up to give Vern’s men fighting chance of glory at long last

Scotland are on the up under Vern Cotter and that hasn’t gone unnoticed by our Six Nations opponents

IT has been a long time coming but Scotland are finally part of the discussion when the talk begins about Six Nations title challengers and that feelgood factor surrounding the Scottish game extended as far as London yesterday.

In the plush surroundings of the Hurlingham Club, the assembled captains and coaches for this season’s competition were at pains to point out that a successful autumn Test series and the heroics of both Glasgow and Edinburgh on the European stage make Scotland a side to be reckoned with.

While Eddie Jones’ bashed-up face and the presence of England skipper Dylan Hartley to talk for the first time since the red card that puts his captaincy at risk, dominated the agenda, the turnaround in fortunes of the game north of the border could also be heard amid the chatter.

‘Vern has done a great job with Scotland and they have three matches at home and have to be a threat,’ England head coach Jones admitted.

‘The players seem to be reacting positively to his coaching and the whole set-up at Scotland going into the tournament is looking good.’

Welsh counterpart Rob Howley singled out Finn Russell’s performances and added: ‘He was superb against Leicester and this is a very strong Scotland team going into the Six Nations.’

Even under-pressure French coach Bernard Laporte believes Cotter to be in charge of a rejuvenated team that will cause his own side significant problems when they turn up in Paris for the second match of the campaign.

For Cotter’s old pal Joe Schmidt, whose Ireland side visit Murrayfield for the opening fixture on Saturday week, there is a recognition, or an admission, that his side can expect a ‘torrid time’.

‘Of course I know Vern well but, regardless of that, Scotland are in super shape at the moment and anybody should be able to see that,’ he said. ‘I watched Finn Russell pull the strings against Leicester superbly well and he will try and do the same against us.

‘All the usual suspects showed up for Glasgow that day and they are likely to show up against us and give us a hard time.

‘Jonny Gray ran in a try, Tommy Seymour got one, too. The way Tim Swinson is coming on is exceptional and you have Richie Gray to come into the mix for selection, too.

‘In the past they haven’t had any real strength coming off the bench. This year it is different, this year they are as well-equipped as I have seen them.

‘Also remember Scotland were denied a semi-final place in the World Cup by one decision at the end of a game which showed they have been heading in the right direction for a while.

‘Two years ago we beat them well at Murrayfield to win the Six Nations title but look at where they were then when we managed to topple them to where they are now. They are in a very different place, which is good for Scottish rugby and also good for the Six Nations.’

His skipper Rory Best added: ‘If we think that because we beat New Zealand in Chicago that gives us a right that we’re going to win at Murrayfield you are wrong. We understand that we need to use results like that to push us forward to be better again at Murrayfield.

‘The way the Six Nations is at the minute, the way Scotland are going, and the way Glasgow and Edinburgh are going in Europe, it’s going to take a performance equal to or better than anything we produced in November.’

Cotter took all this praise in his stride yesterday. As he approaches his final Six Nations before making way for Gregor Townsend in the summer, this rugged Kiwi is certainly not one to get carried away with the warm words that hung in the air on such a cold day.

He had talked in a BBC interview yesterday of being compelled to take the Scotland job as a way of silencing the ‘mickey takers’ who had so easily dismissed the Caledonian challenge. His aim was to turn Scotland into a force to be reckoned with and, in that regard, it seems he has succeeded.

‘Are we contenders for the Six Nations?’ he asked. ‘That is not the type of thing we say in Scotland as we are a humble group of people. I want to just leave it there, thank you.’

But he couldn’t stop himself praising the players at his disposal and added: ‘I am excited at what is ahead for Scotland. There is a real buzz around this squad going into the Six Nations, although there has to be a dose of realism as well.

‘It is going to be a tough tournament for us and we have to keep working hard for us to do well. Greig Laidlaw and the boys have been developing over the past two years and now this is a big chance for us.

‘We have to be realistic though. Should we beat Ireland, who beat the All Blacks recently?

‘Should we beat England, who have not lost a game for ages?

‘We set high standards and we have to meet them to challenge these teams and translate our good recent form into wins.

‘We will go into the tournament full of confidence, maybe the most we have had. The guys took some confidence from the way they played in the autumn Tests and now you have the Glasgow boys and the Edinburgh boys taking confidence from their performances in Europe.

‘There is a consistency in performance and execution about this group of players that has grown. The team and everybody involved in this Six Nations with Scotland has a vision that we want to do something in this tournament.

‘The game in Scotland is shifting forward and we have good, young players in this squad. It may be my final time as head coach but this is not about me. All we want to do is beat Ireland and get our campaign off to the best start possible.’