There are demons to be slain, hoodoos to be buried, monkeys to be removed from backs.
The routine line from Scotland players ahead of games against the All Blacks is that they are not worried by the long history of defeats, but it is just as common for them to admit afterwards that, yes, they did feel overawed by their opponents.
All of which is meat and drink to Dr Kristine Dun, a sport psychologist at the sportscotland institute of sport. If the Scots can win the mental battle, or at least be well prepared for it before they hit the pitch, they will have a far better chance of a first win against New Zealand.
"It's important to recognise and accept the All Blacks are a great team and are playing well now," Dr Dun said. "But then Scotland have had a great summer as well. The key is to be realistic about where you're at, but still remember it's just 15 men you're up against out there.
"They should also focus on themselves. They should be asking what they are good at. Are we strong in the tackle? Do we contest the ball? Are we resolute and disciplined in defence? It's about concentrating on yourselves."
All well and good in the dressing room, but it can all go pear-shaped in those knee-knocking moments when you have to face up to the haka. Dr Dun, an Australian who has her own reasons for wanting Scotland to win today, has a novel suggestion.
She said: "Get your plan as a team for the alignment, where and how you will stand. Make sure you stand strong. Concentrate on your opposite number, so you're facing one man and not the whole team.You can think about it as a silly dance if you find humour defuses the moment. Imagine them dancing along to a karaoke song. Put them on the dance floor. There's no reason why you can't think, 'this is just grown men doing a silly dance and it's all a bit ridiculous'."
Beyond that, Dr Dun believes the players must focus on tasks and processes rather than allow themselves to be distracted by the context. "They need to remember that the All Blacks are just people and are therefore fallible," she said. "You get down to the specifics of your own role. It's about doing your own job and staying in the present moment, then the situation is much more manageable."
Alasdair Reid
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article