Sean Lamont has had this feeling before, and he’s certain that there will be a reaction for Scotland as they play a must-win game against Samoa.
The 105-times capped wing played in three World Cups and is at his fourth as the squad’s strength and conditioning coach, and he played six times against Samoa, including his first, 50th and 100th internationals.
He has the feeling that there will be a reaction from the Scotland squad to Sunday’s loss to Ireland and the Samoans will feel that in Kobe’s Misaki Stadium on Monday.
“One of the things I can bring is that I have been here before, I understand how they are feeling.” he said. “It wasn’t the performance we were looking for, regardless of it being a World Cup, you don’t ever want to put in a performance like that while playing for Scotland.
“We have seen these things happen, what we need now is a reaction because there are still three games left and we need to win every one of them.
“We are not dead in the water, there’s still plenty to play for and for me it’s about bringing that energy.”
He can’t guarantee a reaction, but he recognises the atmosphere in the training camp now.
“You probably don’t know for sure, but there’s a feeling,” he continued. “You get the atmosphere from the guys around here.
“Sunday was a royal boot up the ass, if you like. This is a bigger boot, knowing that you can’t take your foot off the gas.
“We’ve always been like this with Scotland, we’re always either up or down, and we can’t ever afford to coast it with any opposition, east of all in a World Cup.”
The Scots players feel every performance as much as the fans, he added.
“Every game in World Cup is pressure,” he said. “Every game for Scotland is pressure. We generally deal with this during every Six Nations.
“Nobody wants to not perform for Scotland. We’ve got a load of passionate guys, we’re a nation that generally punches well above its weight if you look at it, with playing population and everything. We just need that reaction this weekend.”
Lamont always liked playing Samoa, because it felt like his kind of game.
“I always enjoyed playing all the Pacific Island teams because they’re all so confrontational,” he said. “They love the physical aspect and I was a pretty physical player myself, so I always had a real battle of physical wills.
“I enjoyed it and I think the guys will at the weekend as well, it’s a really good contest, and they have got a good team.
“They are a passionate nation, our games with them in recent times have been damn close and they are a big, physical team.
“They’ll see us as like a wounded animal after that Ireland game and they are going to come at us.
“We need to box clever. If we just try and match them physically, that’s playing into their hands. We need to use our footwork and we need to bring that energy.”
