Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Six Nations: Scots focus on mental approach to ‘backing up’ big wins at last

WP Nel may well feature again for Scotland against Wales on Saturday.

Scotland think their ‘backing-up’ problem is mostly mental, so clarity about where they are is crucial to follow up the latest Twickenham triumph with a win over Wales.

It’s not just the Welsh that have been the issue, although it’s been them the last two years. Scotland have never won the first two games of a Guinness Six Nations.

The last time they won their two opening games of a championship was in the 1996 Five Nations, when the current head coach Gregor Townsend was instrumental.

‘There’s been a mix of factors’

Assistant coach Pieter de Villiers thinks mental skills coach Aaron Walsh, who joined the camp for the first time in the Autumn, could come into his own this week.

“Really, we probably shouldn’t dwell on the past too much,” said the former French international prop. “But I think there’s been a mix of factors.

“There could have been a bit of complacency at times. It could have been under-estimation of your opponent. Maybe the next opponent realises we are a good team – and so they up their game as well.

“It could be dwelling on that victory for too long, not moving on immediately to look at how we can get better. It’s a mix of all of those things.

“Maybe it’s also maturity. Maybe the team is a bit more mature this week and we will deal with it better.

“We’ve now got Aaron Walsh working with us. He can assist us with the mental preparation side of things. I think we’re better prepared to take this challenge on, whilst also still respecting our opponent.”

Wales looked in disarray in the first half of their opener against Ireland, but the Scots have paid more attention to the second half, said de Villiers.

“You look at the Welsh team, that second half was a draw, with the number one team in the world,” he said. “And . with a new management and new coaches.

“We know there is a lot of experience there as well, so there’s a lot to take in there. We have to make sure that we are ready to face a difficult side, as they have proven themselves to be in the past.”

‘He’s definitely up there with the best’

Zander Fagerson will be available for selection this week, but they have no doubts about WP Nel after his battling performance at Twickenham.

“WP was once again brilliant when the squad needed him,” continued de Villiers. “We sometimes need to manage him because he’s been around, but he’s definitely up there with best when it comes to set-piece experience and power.

“Zander is available for selection, so is Hamish (Watson). We’ve also got a lot of players in form in those two positions of loose-forward and front-row, so the competition will be stiff in those two departments.”

The Scots have lost back rower Andy Christie who has gone back to Saracens with a dead leg problem. Scott Cummings, who has made a gradual return from a foot injury sustained before November, has joined the squad but is unlikely to feature.

All the rest of the squad, including Stuart Hogg who was removed early at Twickenham, have trained normally.

Conversation