Over excited when they went to Twickenham last year and overly sure of themselves when they went to Cardiff to kick off this season’s Six Nations Championship, Scotland’s failings in both matches can be 
attributed to hubris according to one of those who started both matches.

Gordon Reid scored his only Scotland try at English rugby’s headquarters a year ago, but it was among his most miserable experiences in a Scotland shirt as a record 61 points were run in by the home team and he admitted yesterday that he and his team-mates had allowed themselves to get carried away with the expectation that accompanied them after they had sandwiched a narrow defeat in Paris with home wins over Ireland and Wales.

“It showed the importance of keeping a lid on things the last time we were down there,” he said of the experience.

“Last year we let our emotions get to us a little bit too much and that resulted in them beating us by a hefty amount. So it’s a huge thing for us to keep level-minded and keep our heads strong going into the game and thinking positively.”

Yet with perceived media cheerleaders among those accused of getting carried away following an encouraging autumn Test series this season, he reckoned Scotland once again got it all wrong when the current Six Nations campaign got underway.

“Against Wales everybody hyped us up – ‘Scotland are going to win, 
Scotland are going to win’ – and I think we obviously believed that. We believed we could just go and win, just needed to show up,” he observed.

“We believed we were great, we were the best team in the world, which was not the case.”

His account of that seemed slightly at odds with Reid’s claim that he does not read the papers – a ploy often used by sportspeople in the mistaken belief that it will somehow undermine commentators – when asked by a broadcaster about reports that Eddie Jones, England’s coach, had invited the Scottish football manager Davie Moyes to speak to his players in what is presumed to be an attempt at mind games.

However, if that is taken at face value it invites the logical conclusion that the ‘hype’ to which he referred was generated within the camp itself which seems all the more bizarre given the emphasis that is placed these days on sports psychology. That, in turn, might be seen as providing further evidence that there is a dangerous side to 
the trend towards endless positive reinforcement.

Either way, Reid’s assertion that it is England who head into Saturday’s match with a legitimate claim to be the best team in the world is supported by more compelling evidence, last year’s defeat in Dublin when they had already won a second successive Six Nations title, their solitary defeat in the 24 matches played since Eddie Jones took over as their head coach following the 2015 World Cup.

“They are definitely coming into this game being the big dogs,” said Reid, who plays his club rugby in the English Premiership with London Irish. “So be it. They have beaten some big teams and have become a really good side themselves. They have a good pack, some good backs and are winning games week in, week out with England. With their clubs, they have a huge pool to pick some great talent from so, yeah, they will definitely be favourites. On a personal level he knows, too, that for all that Scotland’s front-row forwards have done well to overcome what was considered to be something of an injury crisis in their department, they face an even stiffer challenge this weekend.  

“This is a huge game for us. From my point of view I’m up against the likes of Dan Cole and Mako Vunipola, who are good scrummagers, British Lions. It’s a good pack,” Reid noted. 

“I 100 per cent think they will try and attack us in the front row, so it’s going to be a huge battle, but I’m always excited for these big games.”
While he stopped short of echoing fellow prop Simon Berghan who was born and raised in New Zealand but was widely reported at the weekend as having said that he ‘sort of knew everyone hates England, basically because we did, but when I came over here it was made more obvious to me,’ Reid said his passion for this fixture had been in no way diluted by earning his keep on the other side of the border.

“It’s always going to be a big game, you’re always going to get emotional,” he said. 

“I’m Scottish through and through and we heard about Bergie and all that sort of stuff he was saying. It’s a massive game for all of us. England are the best team in the world and we just want to play the best team in the world week in, week out so we become as good as we can be. That’s how you get better.”

However, in order to achieve that he is urging his colleagues to stick to their normal routines if they are to get the mental balance right for the challenge of doing something no Scotland team has achieved in a decade, by beating England.

“I think you just need to take it as a normal game in the dressing room and do what you normally do at club games or whatever,” he said. 

“If that’s beating your chest and shouting out loud, if that’s what you need to do to keep calm, it’s Scotland and everyone’s there, but you just need to take a step back and actually look at where you are. You are playing in front of your home nation, so take it in but don’t get too excited.”