Readers of a gentle disposition might prefer not to be reminded that it is now almost exactly 10 years to the day since Wales fan Geoffrey Huish celebrated his side's victory over England in Cardiff by cutting off his own testicles.

In the time since, it is fair to assume that Huish might occasionally have regretted his decision to reduce his tackle count in such an eye-wateringly dramatic way. After all, when surgeons decided that his gelding status would be permanent, they promptly sent him off to a psychiatric ward instead. But his actions ought still to remind the rest of the rugby world that they take the game rather seriously to the west of the Severn and the Usk.

In which light, one dreads to think what degrees of self-harm the Dragonistas might have considered in the wake of their 21-16 loss to England in the Millennium Stadium last Friday. If Huish reached for the knife - blunt wire cutters actually - to mark a win, that shock defeat must have tempted a few to take even more dramatic action.

Having grown up in the Valleys, and having represented the country of his birth 35 times, Jonathan Humphreys is well aware of the grip rugby exerts on the Welsh national consciousness. But while the Scotland forwards coach must occasionally wish that things worked the same way in these parts too, he was also quick to point out that all that public ardour is not such a blessing all the time.

"In Wales, there is an interest and a fervour behind what goes on in rugby," the 45-year-old former hooker observed. "There are two Barclays Premier League teams in south Wales, but it is rugby that still dominates the back pages.

"While you might think [recognition] is really good for Sam Warburton, I don't think this will be a good time for Sam. There are knock-on effects after a loss.

"The people care about the game, but it can be suffocating. The guys in the Wales camp will go into a cocoon and seal themselves off because they don't want to be in the middle of it.

"The Welsh media will be going crazy. Down there, the boys are always the best side in the world or the worst side in the world. I don't think there is any happy medium."

So can Scotland pile on the misery while the Welsh are still licking their (strictly metaphorical) wounds?

"I don't think Wales are vulnerable," Humphreys replied. "They've been there before. They're very good at regaining momentum, very good at fighting and scrapping for a win. So we can't think about what they're going to do. We need to think about the rugby we want to play and that will take care of what they're trying to do."

Humphreys grew up alongside Rob Howley and the two Bridgend boys went on to play together many times for Wales. Their coaching careers have also paralleled each other, and Humphreys is not surprised that Howley has made a success of things on that front.

"He was always a pretty driven kid," he said. "He has turned into an excellent coach. He's good on the detail of what he does."