International rugby gave Jonathan Humphreys a lot of happy memories while he was racking up 35 caps for Wales, but one of his most treasured arrived on a day when did not add to that total.
It was 11 April 1999, and hooker Humphreys was on the bench for the Wales - England game (played at Wembley while the Millennium Stadium was being built). Substitutions were not routine in those days, so the bench was where he stayed.
England led 31-25 as the seconds ticked away. At which point, the familiar figure of Clive Woodward started fussing around near the Welsh replacements. "He was looking for the trophy," laughed Humphreys.
The joke, of course, is that the game took a dramatic turn a moment later, when Scott Gibbs thundered over for a famous try, Neil Jenkins kicked the conversion and the Five Nations silverware was snatched from England's grasp. The following day it was presented to Scotland's Gary Armstrong instead.
We already know that the trophy will not be in Scottish hands at the end of this Six Nations season, but Humphreys, now the Scotland forwards coach, is determined that something, if only pride, can be salvaged form the campaign. He is also adamant that it is Scotland's execution, rather than their gameplan, that has let them down so far.
Referring back to last year's loss to England at Murayfield, Humphreys said: "It is about process, the technicalities of what you are trying to do. That's the thing about getting it right.
"I don't think we got that wrong last year, it was just systematic errors that are still in our game at the moment that we need to learn from and eradicate. We need to get smarter as a group."
Humphreys admitted that he expects the English forwards to try to bully the Scots out of the game. "England are obviously a very physical side," he explained. "The game will be based around scrummaging for penalties and driving lineouts.
"We defended 19 driving lineouts at Murrayfield last year, so we are aware of the strengths and how they want to play. It is about us getting the technicalities right in how we deal with that."
As Scotland failure to stop lineout drives - legally at least - led to two if Italy's three tries at Murrayfield a fortnight ago, they are obviously still vulnerable in that area. And, as Humphreys acknowledged, England will know it.
"It was obviously a setback against Italy and we need to make sure we make amends," he said. "We look at the process and will look at ways of dealing with certain scenarios and trying to get experience in a short amount of time."
England's shortcomings were also exposed by Ireland in the last round, but Humphreys suggested that the Scots will not follow the Irish template too closely.
Humphreys said: "You always try to look at strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. That's a given. But it is more about us, getting the things that we need to get right into our game. Then hopefully other things will take care of themselves."
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