Scotland are going to the World Cup not just to make the knockouts but to win and it would be ridiculous to suggest otherwise, says Stuart Hogg.
The star full-back makes his first appearance of pre-season against Italy this afternoon fully accepting SRU CEO Mark Dodson’s target of actually winning the tournament, despite the ridicule heaped on Dodson for suggesting it.
“Mark Dodson set the goal very early on,” said Hogg. “He wants to win the World Cup and that’s very much in our focus and our mind-set.
“We know we have a tough pool to try and qualify from but we’re not going to make up the numbers. You don’t go to a world cup thinking it’ll be fine just to get out of the pool stages, like everyone else we’re going there to win.
“Every game will be a massive challenge for us, there is a long way to go and it has to be game by game. If we can get to the knock out stages we’ll take it from there.
“But we’re not looking past Japan in the first game, if we look too far ahead of ourselves we’ll slip up.”
Hogg isn’t even presuming he’s going to make the cut for the final squad, although surely that’s unthinkable for one of Scotland’s few truly world class players.
“This is where I made my breakthrough, ironically,” he said. “When the guys were in New Zealand I got my chance at Glasgow.
“But you’d be stupid to look any further forward than this game. I haven’t played since the PRO12 final, the other guys have done well so far.
“If you go into a game thinking, ‘my World Cup place is safe’, then you’ve got completely the wrong mind-set.
“For me it’s about doing my job, getting the ball in hand as much as I possibly can and doing my bit for the team.”
Because of his various commitments with the Lions and the Scotland, it’s the first time for three years Hogg’s had a full pre-season, and he’s feeling the benefit.
“It has been tough but enjoyable,” he said. “The boys have been working incredibly hard and pushing ourselves to the limits at some stages.
“When we play our structure and know our structure we are dangerous. The complete opposite of that is when we get it wrong we run ourselves into the ground and put ourselves under a hell of a lot of pressure, as has happened a couple of times.
“The boys who are back this week have had an extra couple of weeks pre-season and we are ready to go.”
The World Cup would be just about the last thing to be ticked off in Hogg’s brief but eventful career, and it’s still slightly startling to find he’s only just turned 23.
“Obviously it is a dream to play at the highest level,” he said. ““It’s always an honour to wear the Thistle, but to wear the Thistle at the World Cup would be the ultimate.
“The boys who’ve been there and done it say it’s an unbelievable experience, but hearing about it is one thing, I want to experience it for myself.
““I’ve been very fortunate to achieve what I’ve achieved but I always want more. I’m always looking at my next match and my next set of targets.
“You set short-term goals and you also set long terms goals, at the start of last season I wanted to help Glasgow win the Pro12 and I also set myself the target of reaching the World Cup squad.
“I’m in the training squad so the job in my eyes is only half done.”