TIME TO RISE TO THE OCCASION
In part two of our Six Nations preview, rugby correspondent Rob Robertson sits down with Scotland rugby legends Jason White and Andy Nicol alongside Sportsmail’s Head of Sport Lorne Gardner to analyse our chances. Today, they discuss how many world-class players they think Scotland have going into the Six Nations, who they think will win the Championship, and facing England at Murrayfield.
ROB ROBERTSON: Every Six Nations winners have world-class players. How many, if any, do Scotland have?
ANDY NICOL: One. Stuart Hogg is world class. To be world class, you have to be consistently playing at the highest level and your poor games have to be touching world class.
Huw Jones could be world class as his performance levels and impact since he burst on to the scene with Scotland have been amazing. He has scored seven tries in 11 games.
Finn Russell has shown glimpses of being world class but needs to be there consistently like Dan Carter and Jonny Wilkinson were. That is the only thing that stops me putting Finn in there.
JASON WHITE: Who could play for the Lions? Who could play for the All Blacks? That is how we would define world class when we were playing. Hoggy and Huw Jones are world class in my book and Duncan Taylor, too, when he is fit and on his game. Richie and Jonny Gray on their day. If we have a good Six Nations, as we hope, Finn Russell could be classed as world class.
LORNE GARDNER: Hogg is world class and I would also say Finn Russell. I am a huge fan of Hamish Watson but he is not there yet.
ROBERTSON: Going into the tournament, who is the favourite to lift the Six Nations title?
WHITE: Eddie Jones’ record as England head coach is fantastic, with 22 out of 23 games won. He took over from Stuart Lancaster and really connected with that group of players. I am worried about England. I am also worried about Ireland because of the way their pro teams are playing, especially Leinster.
GARDNER: Playing Ireland in Dublin in our second last game could be, I fear, a reality check. England have their problems with some big names out. Overall, there is a small gap between the top four teams. Nobody is talking about France but they won’t be far away.
NICOL: I have England as favourites as they play Ireland at Twickenham in the final game that could decide who wins the Six Nations. Ireland have Johnny Sexton on fire, Robbie Henshaw. As Lorne says, you can’t write off France. They are the dark horses.
ROBERTSON: Ireland and England can vary their play and either grind out results with the forwards or run the opposition ragged with their backs. Do Scotland have that variety to their play?
WHITE: We can’t naturally grind out results but if one man can orchestrate that type of performance it is Greig Laidlaw. If he is in the matchday squad and it turns out to be a classic arm wrestle, Greig can do box-kicks, clear our lines and when the squeeze comes on, keep everybody calm.
Our props are going to be so inexperienced, they are not going to be the guys to grind things out. It will be the experienced guys who take pressure off them.
NICOL: We can’t play an 80-minute grind. We can’t play suffocating rugby for 80 minutes. With ten minutes to go, can we close out a game? Yeah.
We play an exciting game because it brings out the best in our players and grinding out results is not our natural way. It is not the Gregor Townsend way.
GARDNER: We can grind out a game for 15, 20 minutes, but I don’t think we want to. I like the new way under Gregor that Scotland are throwing the ball around. I would rather be beaten playing like that than go down playing turgid rugby.
WHITE: Grinding out results is not our game plan going into the Six Nations but it has to be part of our skill set. ROBERTSON: Combinations matter, particularly in areas like the second row. In the past, the Gray brothers would be favourites to start Six Nations matches. Have things changed?
NICOL: We certainly have more strength in depth but I would start Jonny Gray and Richie Gray, provided he is fully fit, against Wales. Grant Gilchrist is pushing them hard and I would have him on the bench.
WHITE: The Gray brothers feed off each other on the pitch and potentially together they are world class. I really hope Richie is fit.
GARDNER: I have a concern about Richie Gray in terms of game time even if he is fit. He has just played a few games for Toulouse and is now back out injured. Is that enough for him to come straight back in? I am not so sure.
The guys who finished against Australia, the likes of Jonny Gray, Ben Toolis and Grant Gilchrist deserve to stay involved.
ROBERTSON: There are five uncapped players in the 40-strong Scotland squad. Who do you expect out of Blair Kinghorn, D’Arcy Rae, Murray McCallum, Neil Cochrane and Nathan Fowles to make their debut?
NICOL: No disrespect to any of them but I wouldn’t like to see any of them play! That’s because I would like Stuart Hogg to play every game, the scrum-halves to play every game and the first-choice props and hookers to play as long as they can. That doesn’t mean I am not impressed with these guys.
WHITE: Kinghorn maybe. I don’t see Fowles getting a run. McCallum and Rae will be involved due to us not having many fit props. Stuart McInally and Scott Lawson will be the hookers.
GARDNER: Through necessity, we
will see at least one of the props get game time. Kinghorn got a kick up the backside from his club coach Richard Cockerill earlier in the season and it seems to have worked as he is playing really well. If Hogg doesn’t play every minute of every game then Sean Maitland will drop back as cover. Maybe Italy in the last game for Kinghorn to make his debut.
ROBERTSON: I know you don’t want to look too far ahead but the third game up is England at Murrayfield, which is always a special occasion. Can you understand why the fans look forward to that one more than any other?
NICOL: Of course. Jason and I both beat England at Murrayfield in 2000. My grandfather played one game for Scotland, which was against England in 1932. The first game I ever went to at Murrayfield was against England, my first cap was against England, my last game against England. My defining moment of my international career was beating England.
We are all fans meeting here today who, hopefully, bring a bit of rugby perspective on the occasion. Everybody is looking forward to that game.
WHITE: The Scotland players won’t be looking as far ahead as the England game, although I can understand why everybody is so excited. The one thing the England game does is to bring the public into the equation. The Scotland fans will bring an extra energy to the occasion.
GARDNER: We need to lose this feeling that we judge our Six Nations on how we do against England. I am not dismissing how important it is to everybody in Scotland but we can’t just focus on that 80 minutes. Yes, it is a cliché but in the Six Nations you need to take one game at a time. Wales away in the first game is the one. Then France and only
Hoggy and Huw Jones are world class in my book. Taylor, too
There is not much between England, Ireland and Scotland
then England. If we beat England and lose the rest of our games in the Six Nations, it doesn’t make things right.
ROBERTSON: Thinking about one game at a time is vital for Scotland, which makes the Six Nations opener against Wales crucial. Can Scotland win in Cardiff for the first time since 2002?
NICOL: That opening game against Wales, from a Scotland point of view, is everything. We have only won the first fixture twice in the history of the Six Nations. We can still go down there and win.
WHITE: If we play to 95 per cent of our potential or above, we are capable of winning it. I played in that win in 2002. Gordon Bulloch scored two tries.
NICOL: We have injuries but they have even more with Taulupe Faletau, Jonathan Davies and Sam Warburton. Remember, though, Wales always raise their game in the Six Nations.
GARDNER: We can win in Cardiff. Although Andy is right in saying how they always manage to peak for the Six Nations, they will be looking at us and be worrying. ROBERTSON: So what is the Six Nations table going to look like when the tournament is over? WHITE: England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Wales, Italy. NICOL: Going into the tournament, there is not much
between England, Ireland and Scotland. I would go the same line-up as Jason.
GARDNER: I am going to go Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Wales, Italy.
ROBERTSON: The title is going to come down to who picks up the most bonus points. Can you score more than four tries, can you deny the opposition a bonus point by beating them by more than seven?
GARDNER: Ireland, England, Scotland are close, so bonus points will be vital. The fact we can run in tries is a huge positive, bearing that in mind, but I still think Ireland will win the tournament.
ROBERTSON: So if bonus points are so important, who can change the game for Scotland and help create and run in the tries for Scotland to secure them?
WHITE: Stuart Hogg. Hogg is a world-class talent who will rise to the occasion in the Six Nations.
NICOL: Finn Russell. To have serious aspirations to win the Six Nations, which Scotland are close to having, you need a world-class stand-off. Finn Russell has to play consistently at the highest level for all five games. My concern is what happens if he goes down injured. I love Peter Horne but, with all due respect, he is not Finn Russell.
GARDNER: Everything is going to go through Finn Russell but the one guy who can do some damage for us is Huw Jones. He is an outstanding talent and is close to being world class. Whoever found him for Scotland out in South Africa should be getting a ticket to Murrayfield for the rest of their lives.