Being captain of Scotland in the Calcutta Cup clash is Greig Laidlaw’s career highlight so far, but it’ll mean nothing if the country doesn’t share “a special day”.
The 28-year-old scrum-half captains Scotland for the fourth time in the last year but for the first time in a match against the Auld Enemy, and it’s “the ultimate” for him.
“It doesn’t get much bigger than Scotland versus England at Murrayfield and it’s a privilege just to be involved in a match such as this,” he said.
“It’s a game we’re looking forward to not just because it’s Scotland versus England but also because we want to right a few wrongs from last week. It’s a huge honour just to be able to play in the game because of all its history, but to be captaining Scotland is a dream come true, the ultimate career high for me.”
But it won’t mean anything, and all the words said will be useless, unless Scotland produce the performance and the victory, he added.
“When you think of the people who’ve led Scotland in the past I know what a huge honour it is, but I don’t just want to be the captain, and play the game I want to make it a special day, for us, for the team and the Scotland supporters, and especially for Chris Fusaro in his first cap,” said Laidlaw.
“I was at the game in 2000 when Duncan Hodge kicked all the points, it was chucking it down and sat up behind the posts with my dad. That’s the sort of day we remember.”
As for the responsibilities of captain, Laidlaw’s well adjusted to those having captained the Scots after Kelly Brown got injured on the
summer tour last year and also against South Africa in the autumn tests, and being the regular skipper of Edinburgh.
“Nothing much changes for me because at scrum-half you’re always at the front of decision-making as the kind of lynchpin of the side,” he pointed out.
“It’s big shoes to fill because Kelly’s a great captain and I’m certain he’ll continue to be involved in the Scotland team.
“It’s the mark of the man the way he reacted to Scott’s decision but that’s been made now and our focus is on the team and the match now.
“For my part I always concentrate on my own game, it’s never really about what I say in the dressing room or during a game. It’s all about deeds rather than words as far as I’m concerned.”