ROAD WARRIORS
Time for us to prove ourselves away from home, says Barclay
Scotland captain John Barclay is confident his team can shatter the odds and end Ireland’s Grand Slam dream in dublin today.
a win in the aviva Stadium for Gregor townsend’s men would also prove to the likes of Irish rugby legend Brian o’driscoll that the Scots are finally over their well-documented travel sickness. they have won away just six times on the road — four in Italy, once in Wales and Ireland — during the 18-year history of the Six nations.
according to o’driscoll, despite two victories against France and England in this year’s championship, Scotland will never be truly respected until they start winning regularly away from Murrayfield.
‘I don’t think what Brian said is unfair as our away record would suggest that, although we had a good win in australia last summer,’ said Barclay.
‘It would be nice to prove him wrong but it won’t be extra motivation for us.
‘Why we haven’t won more away is bizarre. If I had the answer, then it wouldn’t be an issue. all I can say is we need to correct that now.
‘I am sure we are not the only team to find winning away difficult because the record of wins home and away for most teams is pretty stark in the Six nations.
‘Ultimately, it is 15 guys going up against one another on a piece of grass. Whoever is more accurate and plays better, wins.’
the Scots are coming off the back of a famous calcutta cup victory when they comprehensively outplayed England and Barclay insisted
the game plan today is to make things as ‘chaotic’ as possible from the first whistle. ‘We want it to be chaotic and uncomfortable in Dublin,’ he declared. ‘We did it last year when Ireland came to Edinburgh and we won. ‘We are comfortable when there is chaos breaking out but the line between chaos and control is a fine one. Striking the balance between the two is crucial. ‘Plant a few seeds early and go from there. We are only going to create so many chances, so we need to capitalise on them. ‘Quality teams don’t give you too many chances and they tend to take a high percentage of theirs. ‘We are going there with belief that our very best stuff will make it a hell of an occasion. But if we are to win at the Aviva, then we
will have to be even better in Dublin than we were against England at BT Murrayfield — that much is a guarantee. ‘Ireland have won their last eight Tests at home and their last ten in all. ‘The next step for our team is to win big games away from home under pressure. Playing Ireland in their backyard ticks both those boxes.’ The Scarlets flanker also said he felt the ‘excitement’ and ‘goodwill’ towards the team from the fans and that gives him added motivation to reward them with a victory in Dublin. Hundreds cheered the squad off as they flew out of Edinburgh Airport yesterday to the Irish capital. ‘The support has been fantastic throughout the Championship and, in fact for the past 18 months to two years,’ declared Barclay. ‘I have seen that in Edinburgh and also at the airport in Wales when we played down there. ‘I can feel the goodwill towards us and it would be great to return from Ireland with a win. ‘It will be physical, attritional and there will be a bit of niggle — but that is the bit of the game that everybody enjoys and it is a match we can win.’ Barclay felt the pressure going in to the game was all on Ireland as they continue their Grand-Slam bid, with a game away to England to follow. In contrast, the Scots are very much the underdogs. ‘Ireland have a Grand Slam to think about, so we will let them worry about that and we will think about this game,’ he said. ‘There are always going to be whispers about the Grand Slam as they are the only unbeaten team in the championship and we are going into week four. ‘We won’t be talking about titles ahead of the game. Even if we do win, I haven’t looked at the maths as I know how hard this weekend will be. ‘If you are in a position in the final week to talk about titles, then hats off to you.’ Barclay has pinpointed scrumhalf Conor Murray and fly-half Johnny Sexton as the men who make Ireland tick and both players need to be stopped. ‘Nines and tens tend to run the game and in Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton they have two of the best in the world,’ he said. ‘They were the combination for the Lions, won lots of things with Ireland and the provinces, so we will try to put them under pressure.’