Wednesday 18 September 2019 09:59, UK
Fly-half Finn Russell believes the Rugby World Cup should show the "real Scotland" after a disappointing Six Nations campaign.
Scotland recorded just one victory in the Six Nations, with a number of injuries to senior players proving key to their fifth place finish.
Gregor Townsend's squad take on Ireland in their first game of Pool A - which also includes Russia, Samoa and hosts Japan - and Russell believes they can get through to the knock-out phase.
"It should be the real Scotland we see now," Russell said.
"This is the main stage, the World Cup, so if it's not the real Scotland we see then it will be disappointing for all of us.
"On our day, if we get things right we're definitely capable of getting out of the group. From there it's knock-out rugby and you take it game by game.
"We're here to do our job and give our best performance. If we stay injury-free I think we're in a great position to do that."
Scotland finished their Six Nations campaign with a historic 38-38 draw against England at Twickenham, but Russell was frustrated with the side's consistency in the tournament.
"The Six Nations was up and down - it all seemed to be games of two halves," the 26-year-old added.
"Against Italy the first half was great, then we let in three late tries. We had a good first period against Ireland too but slipped off again. Then the England game was like that but in reverse.
"What was frustrating was that we never really managed to put in an 80-minute performance. In a World Cup against the best teams on the planet you have to put in an 80-minute display every game."
Scotland will be without back-rower Jamie Ritchie as he steps up his recovery from a broken cheekbone while Exeter's Sam Skinner was the only player to be ruled out before the tournament.
