ATTACK MODE
Skipper Ritchie urges Scots to be brave in bid for All Blacks scalp
JAMIE RITCHIE last night vowed to go on the offensive as Scotland chase a historic first-ever victory over New Zealand.
The All Blacks will arrive at BT Murrayfield this afternoon for their Autumn Nations Series clash with Gregor Townsend’s men. The visitors have over 100 years of history on their side, with Scotland failing to beat the Kiwis in 31 attempts going all the way back to 1905.
They came close in the last meeting in 2017, when Stuart Hogg was tackled just short of the try-line in the dying seconds as the All Blacks won a thriller 22-17.
Ritchie was in the stands watching on that occasion — but he is now desperate to captain the side to what would be a momentous victory.
With Finn Russell back at fly-half, Ritchie has called on Scotland to be brave and fight fire with fire against a slick New Zealand side who ran riot in Cardiff last week.
The Scotland captain (right) said: ‘Our intention is to go out and fire every bullet we’ve got, leave nothing to chance, leave nothing up to what-ifs. We’re just going to be brave and take the game to them.
‘These are the moments that you play for, especially when it comes to playing for Scotland. So the
boys are up for it. It would be the first time in our history that we’ve beaten them in 15s, so we know it’s a challenge but we’re looking to get that monkey off the back.
‘You saw them last week (against Wales), they’re still a very good side. But there are things that we’ve identified that we’ll look to exploit and we’ll be confident we can do that.
‘Belief is hugely important. That’s why we’ve been talking about it, it’s been the theme of our week, that courageousness and having the belief that we can go out and win.
‘We want to make history as a group. Not just in this game, but in other ways as well.
‘This is a good one to get started with.’
New Zealand arrive at Murrayfield on the back of a 55-23 demolition of Wales last weekend.
Despite some patchy form over the past year, Ian Foster’s side served up a reminder of just how dangerous they can be with an eight-try rout of the Welsh.
‘They were quite good, weren’t they?’ smiled Ritchie. ‘They scored some good tries. But this is a different game and a different team. We’re going to pose a different challenge.’
Ritchie was also asked about the battle between Scotland playmaker Russell and his All Black counterpart Beauden Barrett.
‘It’s exciting,’ said the Scotland skipper. ‘Those guys are experts at what they do and they’re both world-class players. We just want Finn to do what he does best.
‘Finn’s been brilliant. It’s good to have him back in and I’m excited to see him go well.’
Doddie Weir will hopefully be in attendance this afternoon, five years after a famous appearance at Murrayfield prior to the last game against the All Blacks.
Weir has been an inspiration to the Scotland team as he continues his battle with Motor Neurone Disease. Along with his sons, he delivered the match ball back in 2017 on a hugely emotional night at the national stadium.
He has since gone on to raise millions of pounds to help research into MND through his charity and foundation work.
‘It’s really special,’ said Ritchie. ‘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.
‘Doddie’s so special to us all and the strength and courage that he’s shown over the last five or six years since his diagnosis, just to keep fighting, is an inspiration.
‘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.
‘My first-ever rugby dinner I went to at my old club, Madras, he was the speaker. That was the first time I met him properly.
‘He did his after-dinner speech and me and one of my pals had just played for Scotland Under-16s, that’s why we’d been invited to the dinner. He got us up and gave us a ball with a little personal message on it and I’ve still got that.
‘I’ve met him a few times over the last few years. He’s such a big character, a special, special man.’