Such a chance to make history may come only once in the Dark Blue
FOR Scotland players, there are fewer greater opportunities in the modern era to write your name into the history books as comes with a Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
Six Nations are fantastic and there is something wonderful about Test matches with New Zealand at a packed Murrayfield, but this is the stage that throws up the chance to gain true worldwide respect for you as a player, for your team, coaches and country.
Emotions have been swirling around the Scotland camp this week with the suspensions of Jonny Gray and Ross Ford, and the knock-on effects. Now, head coach Vern Cotter has an intriguing dilemma — do you stand by Fraser Brown and Tim Swinson, who were called in as replacements and trained all week, or do you return to your first choices?
I don’t think there is any doubt he will restore Jonny and Ross today and I believe he will have known that as soon as he was told about the bans being overturned yesterday. It does us no harm to keep that decision from the Wallabies for as long as possible, though.
Fraser and Tim are good players who have developed well in the past year, but Jonny has become a linchpin of the team, the line-outcaller, an inspirational figure and, quite simply, is showing the early signs of a world-class talent.
Ross brings a level of experience that is vital at this stage of the tournament, where decisions have to be spot on, as slips are potentially fatal to hopes of victory. And both are strong lieutenants Greig Laidlaw can turn to and rely on.
I could not believe the players were given five-week bans, reduced to three, having watched the incident several times.
We have a duty to protect players and keep the sport as safe as we can, but it is a physical game and there is a difference between a dangerous tackle, where a player goes in and turns an opponent on his head, and players moving prostrate opponents from illegal positions in rucks.
What rightly appalled a lot of people has been the handling of the case by the World Cup tribunal and their failure to allow the referee’s opinion to be part of it. That set a worrying precedent in my view.
It is very tough for disciplinary panels, as it is for referees, because few incidents in rugby are the same, and I applaud the appeals panel for their courage in going against the original verdict, but there has to be greater consistency for the disciplinary authorities to retain credibility.
The week Ross has had will probably just fire him up more.
Fordy’s strength in the scrum will also be vital against an Australian set-piece improved by my old Clermont Auvergne club-mate Mario Ledesma because we need parity to provide a platform to play from. And having Jonny and Richie Gray back in harness presents a formidable challenge to the Wallaby line-out.
We need a solid set-piece, a strong decision-making spine that gives us the chance to show the intelligent attack they are developing and then take the opportunities that come, because we will have chances.
Wallabies Bernard Foley and Matt Giteau are inspiring their attack right now, but Cotter has selected what was the old Glasgow back line, bar Greig, so they are tight. And they have worked hard on defence after the Samoa display.
A World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham will be new to everyone, but out one lesson I learned from international rugby was you do not change to try to fit the occasion.
You stick to what you know and seek to control the game to allow you to express your strengths.
The best performances come from players when they are confident and relaxed, and this Scotland squad look like they understand that. They have not played their best rugby for 80 minutes yet but have shown great belief and character.
Greig and Richie took that Samoa game by the scruff of the neck and showed real leadership and, if we can get Mark Bennett, Tommy Seymour, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg all onto ball at pace, we can force pressure on the Aussies.
Australians expect their team to win this. They have coped well with the pressure so far, but it is different when everybody expects you to win.
I do not have many regrets, but Chris Paterson and I still speak about that World Cup quarter-final in 2007, in Paris against Argentina, and analyse, through gritted teeth, how we could have won it. We came close.
That was my one opportunity and this Scotland squad have what might be their one-and-only today.
If I was in the dressing room this afternoon, my message would be a simple one: ‘You are all very good players, believe it and now give it everything you’ve got. We might surprise them.’