SAME AGAIN
Hogg calls on Scots to follow up Twickenham glory against Welsh
Scotland captain Stuart Hogg has thrown down the gauntlet to his team to beat Wales and show their twickenham victory was no flash in the pan.
Hogg refuses to talk about his side being Six nations challengers at this stage but accepts expectations are growing among the fans after their opening-day win over England.
‘What we’ve talked about all this week is that it was one thing being able to win, it’s another thing to be able to back it up,’ said
CONFIDENCE is sky-high in the Scotland camp following last weekend’s momentous Twickenham triumph and hopes have soared that Wales can be swept aside when they visit Murrayfield today. Here, Sportsmail columnist and former Scotland captain ANDY NICOL breaks down the duel with the Dragons...
Have you come down to earth yet after Twickenham?
I have but it took a few days. I watched the game back and it is then that you notice lots more of the detail that actually happened. The great thing is that the win was based on doing the basics well; strong set-piece, intensity in defence and variety in attack. But it wasn’t the perfect performance by any means and Scotland have the potential to play a lot better as long as the basics reach the level they hit at Twickenham. That now has to be the benchmark for all future games. Sure, in some games, the opposition will disrupt the line-out or someone will produce a bit of magic to make a linebreak in defence, that’s international rugby for you.
How do you think the mentality of the squad will have been affected after such a momentous start? Will Gregor Townsend have a job on his hands keeping expectations down?
The mentality of the squad and for Gregor this week should be about ‘backing it up’. I would have written that on walls of the team room in the hotel, the changing room and mentioned it repeatedly throughout the week. That win at Twickenham is worthless if Scotland don’t back it up with a victory against Wales today. This is where the manner of the win last week comes into play. What Scotland did last week was a repeatable skill; it was the basics done well and that is something they are in control, to an extent, of repeating today. If the win last week was based on Finn Russell unlocking his box of tricks and producing a few moments of brilliance, then that is much harder to repeat.
Wales have inflicted more than their fair share of pain at Murrayfield over the years. Are they an entirely different beast now without the Warren Gatland factor?
They are definitely a different side without the aura that went with Warren Gatland. I have likened Wayne Pivac’s job of following Gatland to David Moyes following Fergie as manager of Manchester United; mission impossible. Wales overachieved under Gatland, their record was phenomenal, especially in the Six Nations as they seemed to lift themselves for this Championship every year. The Six Nations is huge in Wales and if you perform well as a player, you are put on a pedestal and revered. This makes them dangerous today as they have no expectations on them, they have a free hit.
Would you change anything about the way we lined up against England with this fixture in mind?
No, play the same way but better would be the message that I would give. It is a shame that Cam Redpath is injured and not able to back up his very promising debut last week. He gave so much to the balance of the back line in attack and defence and looked like he was winning his 51st cap, not his first. James Lang is a similar type of player, so he needs to replicate what Redpath did last week; take some of the playmaking responsibility off Russell and get the ball out to Stuart Hogg in the wide channels.
There are a number of fascinating duels in prospect tomorrow. Which ones stand out for you?
Three duels stand out for me, mainly because of the contrasting styles they bring together. Jonny Gray had a huge game last week and put his hand up for Lions selection, so what better opportunity
than to go head-to-head with the guy who has been the starting second row on the last two Lions tours, Alun Wyn Jones. At openside, two of my favourite players are facing off against each other, Hamish Watson and Justin Tipuric. They both have the No 7 on their back but they play completely different games, which is what I love about them. Both were immense last week in different ways; Watson with his ball carrying and Tipuric with his speed to make tackles or reach the next breakdown.
On the wing, Duhan van der Merwe v Louis Rees-Zammit is box office. Both scored tries last week and both will challenge each other massively. Can Rees-Zammit handle Van der Merwe’s size and strength? Can Van der Merwe cope with Rees-Zammit’s pace?
How big a miss for Wales will George North be after he was ruled out of winning his 100th cap at BT Murrayfield?
He is a big player for Wales, has been for years but he is only one of many injuries that Wales have which has disrupted their planning so far. They still have good players to select, though.
With his sin-binning and missed kicks at Twickenham, Finn Russell had a mixed day but still impressed. Wales should be running scared if it all clicks at Murrayfield?
Every team in the world would and should be scared of Finn if he clicks. He has more to his game than any other stand-off in world rugby but what was so impressive last week for Scotland is how the rest of the team performed to allow him to focus on what he does best. He is like the conductor of the orchestra and if he clicks when the Scotland team are doing the basics well, like last week, then hold on to your hats!
Are we going to make it two wins from two and roll into Paris for the biggest game in almost a generation?
Wales will offer a stern test. They have proper Test-match ‘animals’ in Owens, Wyn Jones, Faletau, Tipuric, Bigger, Williams and Halfpenny. Scotland will be full of confidence and I fully expect them to perform like they did last week but be more ruthless and take their chances. I am backing Scotland to be unbeaten going to Paris.