Scotland’s injury crisis eventually faded faster than three days’ torrential rain into the St James’ Park pitch and it’s a full strength team that will surely define their 2015 World Cup campaign against Samoa in Newcastle tomorrow.
Finn Russell led the team out of the tunnel at yesterday’s captain’s run with a 10 jersey on his back, illustrating immediately that he had recovered from his ankle injury and was fit to play.
John Hardie, Ross Ford and Matt Scott were all wearing their accustomed shirts for the team photograph, indicating that all concussion protocols had been successfully passed. Stuart Hogg bounded out in his usual ebullient mood with a 15 on his back.
There were late final tests for Ford and Scott to pass with team doctor James Robson the only man with authority to refuse head coach Vern Cotter having the final say, but these were largely a formality.
“I think it’s a crossword puzzle,” joked Cotter about the final cognitive test. “Guys who play poker tell me that if you’re a good poker player then you’d be good at this test.
“Finn’s been working really hard and they all came through contact sessions as part of training.”
The mood has changed as the Scots move into what is effectively a knockout match, knowing they have to win to be sure of qualifying for the last eight.
“We’re enjoying being in the situation to qualify although we know it’s going to be a very tough game,” continued Cotter. “We’ve got 80 minutes during which we need to put in a very, very good performance.
“We need to perform in certain areas perhaps better than we have done. Our analysis of the South African match was quite easy and done fairly quickly because we weren’t particularly accurate in our first few plays, which didn’t give us access to the game.
“We became slightly better in the second half but we know that we’ll have to improve and we’ll look for a much better performance in the contact area.”
As far as the game defining Cotter’s time as head coach, he deflected that suggestion.
“You can make a story about it if you’d like to,” he said. “We all know what it means but it is not about me, it never has been.
“It is about us as a group and enjoying the situation. We want to put in a good performance.”
He doesn’t fall into the trap of thinking that the emotional Samoans, after a heavy losses to South Africa and Japan, are slumping out of this World Cup in the huff,
“It is difficult to call it a capitulation,” he said. “Japan picked a team and have been getting good results.
“This is a tough competition. That game hasn’t really changed our thinking. We have had a look and know what we would like to achieve; we know Samoa are a good team with threats all over the park. We are expecting a very tough contest, and we are preparing for one.”
Skipper Grieg Laidlaw believes it is time for the 80 minute performance that has been promised for some time, and certainly no repeat of the slow starts that have featured in all Scotland’s contests in the tournament so far.
“It’s just got to be concentration all the time, no dead time in the game at all,” he said.
“There will be times in the game when Samoa get their tails up and it’s just about defending well, taking the sting out of them and keeping concentrating.
“That’s the message we’ve been getting across all week and we’ve been doing things in training to help achieve that.
“We are extremely motivated this week because as a group we’ve worked incredibly hard from where we were to where we are now.”
The idea that Scotland are favourites never a happy role for them needs to be put aside, added Laidlaw.
“We need to look at Samoa, who are a good and dangerous team,” he warned. “The fact they are already out may make it a little loose this weekend, and we feel there may be opportunities for us in (that kind of) game.
“We’ll give all the credit and respect to Samoa but if we get our part right then we’ll put ourselves in the best position to win the game.”
Despite the disappointment of last week’s game, Laidlaw still went past the team bus in the tunnel under the Jackie Milburn Stand after the game to speak to Scottish supporters gathered there.
“We were disappointed with the way we started the game and didn’t quite get the crowd that involved,” he said. “I’m sure, from speaking to people, that the Scottish support will be out in force again. We want to put in a performance for ourselves and the supporters.
“The support’s been great so far and we’re looking forward to them coming down. We’re desperate to make the quarter-finals and give them a little bit extra to cheer.”
Scotland team: S Hogg (Glasgow); S Maitland (London Irish), M Bennett (Glasgow), M Scott (Edinburgh), T Seymour (Glasgow); F Russell (Glasgow), G Laidlaw (Gloucester, capt); A Dickinson, R Ford, W Nel (all Edinburgh); R Gray (Castres), J Gray (Glasgow); R Wilson (Glasgow), J Hardie (unattached), D Denton (Edinburgh).
Replacements: G Reid (Glasgow), F Brown (Glasgow), J Welsh (Newcastle), T Swinson (Glasgow), J Strauss (Glasgow), H Pyrgos (Glasgow), P Horne (Glasgow), S Lamont (Glasgow).