Duncan Hodge says Scotland must perform against Ireland
Friday 14 August 2015 13:31, UK
Scotland cannot afford to perform poorly against Ireland following a winless Six Nations campaign, admits assistant coach Duncan Hodge.
The Scots head to Dublin for the first of four World Cup warm-up matches, with home-and-away clashes with Italy to follow before playing France in Paris.
Vern Cotter's side suffered a Six Nations whitewash and Hodge knows it is crucial to build momentum ahead of their Pool B opener with Japan in Gloucester on September 23.
"Performance is important but playing well and getting some momentum is massively important for the squad leading into the World Cup," Hodge said.
"The first 20 minutes against Ireland will be the first time we have been under severe pressure (this summer). After the Six Nations a lot of the guys went back to their club and were put under pressure there.
"But there is a huge step up between the Pro12 and international rugby, so the boys will have to deal with that.
"We can't hide behind experimentation. We must try to hit the ground running. We can't afford to waste any time.
"However, we do expect mistakes to be made. We watched Ireland against Wales last week and there were a lot of mistakes made. That's the nature of these pre-season games."
'Desperate'
The Scottish squad have been put through a gruelling two-month training camp to prepare for the World Cup and the coaching staff are looking forward to seeing the players implement what they have worked on in a competitive match.
"We're excited," said Hodge. "We've got 47 players who have worked really hard over these last two months and they are desperate to build towards the World Cup.
"It’s great that we've had eight weeks with the players and been able to get some messages across. But ultimately games are what you measure yourself on and that's where you can fine-tune your coaching and provide the players with some focus."
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With centre Alex Dunbar's chances of making the tournament hanging by a thread as he fights back from knee surgery, Hodge admits he is keeping his fingers crossed Scotland suffer no more injuries.
"With only two professional teams we don't have massive resources, say compared to Ireland with the four competitive sides there," he said.
"You don't want to pick up injuries but occasionally they do happen along the way and then give chances to other people, so it can be a double-edged sword."
