Do it for Doddie: Ritchie rallies the troops for All Blacks clash
BEATING a team of New Zealand’s calibre is hard enough without allowing any psychological obstacles to be added to the physical challenge. It was therefore no surprise yesterday when Jamie Ritchie revealed that the main theme of the week in the home camp has been self-belief and courage.
Ritchie, who captains Scotland for the third time this afternoon at BT Murrayfield, referred to his team’s record of never having beaten the All Blacks in 31 attempts as “the monkey on our backs”. One of his questioners at the eve-of-match press conference called it the elephant in the room. But whatever creature you care to compare it to, it is an unsightly thing that certainly does not improve in appearance the more you look at it.
The fact is, Scotland have fallen well short against New Zealand time after time down the years. They did come close to breaking that duck on the last occasion the teams met five years ago, but, as Hamish Watson said recently, it was only late in the game with the outcome in the balance that they started to truly believe they could do that.
So today, they need to believe from the start. Believe, and play at their best. “Our intention is to go out and fire every bullet we’ve got, leave nothing to chance, leave nothing up to what-ifs,” Ritchie said. “We’re just going to be brave and take the game to them.
“It would be the first time in our history that we’d beaten them. But we’re looking to get that monkey off the back.”
That 2017 match was memorable not only because Scotland had a chance to win the game late on before losing 22-17, but also because Doddie Weir was the guest of honour, just months after being diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Five years on, the former internationalist has raised almost £8million, a sum that has been invested in research into the disease. It is hoped he will be present this afternoon, and Ritchie believes that he and his team-mates will be able to take that extra touch of inspiration from his presence.
“It will be a proud day, being able to lead the boys out in such a big game, especially with Doddie being there as well,” the blindside forward continued. “Five years ago when he presented the ball, it was a hugely emotional moment.
“It’s a bit of a cliche, but I genuinely don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.
“Doddie’s so special to us all. And the strength and the courage that he’s shown over the last five or six years since his diagnosis, just to keep fighting, is an inspiration to anyone, not just us as a playing group. I know he as a person is special to the group and I’d like to think that the group is special to him.
“I said to the boys out there during the team run, ‘If you need any other motivation than to do it for him, then I don’t know what to say’. It’ll be hugely inspirational for us.
“The theme of our week has been courageousness and having the belief that we can go out there and win.”
For that belief to turn into achievement, Scotland will need to improve significantly on the form they have shown over the past two weeks. They lost 16-15 to Australia when they could and arguably should have won, and then were in trouble at half-time against Fiji before eventually easing their way to an unconvincing 28-12 win.
Neither the missed chances from the first game nor the misfiring moments from the second can be repeated today if a home win is to happen. Needless to say, Ritchie is well aware of that, but he is convinced, nonetheless, that his team have all the raw ingredients needed to put in a complete performance and upset the odds. “I don’t think there’s anything missing, I think it’s just a case of putting it together,” he added.
“We want to make history as a group. And this is a good game to get started with.”