Had Sean Lamont been brought up in New Zealand or South Africa he would long since have added extensions to his trophy cabinet.

Had he been born into a more successful era in Scottish rugby, he would at least have been obliged to add a couple of shelves. But in his 12th year as an international player, that cupboard is still frustratingly bare.

There is little doubt that the winger would have prospered in another time or another place. Even in barren times you don't pick up 91 caps by accident. But the longer his career has gone on, the more frustrated Lamont, now 34, has become at the lack of baubles and silverware. Put succinctly, he wants to win something.

Scotland's 1999 Five Nations title triumph was still fresh in the collective memory of the national side when he broke into it in 2004. There were high hopes, still, when he made his Six Nations debut against Wales the following year. But the seasons since have been catalogues of disappointment, with Scotland more often (and not always successfully) battling to avoid the wooden spoon rather than fight for the shinier stuff.

Yet just as Lamont appears to keep a bottle of the elixir of rugby youth at the bottom of his kit bag, so too does hope spring eternal. "This is a new year," he said yesterday as he held court in a hospitality suite at Murrayfield. "Another chance. We are setting out to win this thing. I have been trying for 11 years and haven't won one yet and want to bloody get one before I finish up."

Fact is, though, that Scotland will need a win against Wales in Edinburgh tomorrow if this is to be The Year. Mathematically, it might be possible to win the championship with just three victories, realistically the prospect would be dead in the water if they cannot overcome Warren Gatland's side. And as the Welsh, who lost to England last weekend, know that too, there might be a strong whiff of desperation in the capital's malty air by kick-off time.

Do Scotland have what it takes? There were flashes of potential all over the pitch in the Stade de France last weekend, but the scoreboard told a wearily familiar tale at the end. Going down 15-8 to the French was, by any measure, a fairly honourable defeat, but gallantry on foreign fields is quickly forgotten if the defeats continue to stack up.

Lamont might still have been in his first stint at Glasgow when an Irish journalist side witheringly described the side as fun to watch, and more fun to play against. He is sick of being an attractive loser. Any day of the week, he'll take an ugly win instead.

"I'm far happier when we win," he said tersely. "Even when you play crap and and win then you don't care because you've won. And when you play crap and you've lost then it really hangs on you.

"You play rugby to win. With Scotland we've had many a write-up saying we played valiantly - and I'm sick of it. This weekend it needs to be a win."

There are certainly a few demons to deal with. Lamont did not play in the corresponding fixture last year, but that 51-3 record defeat in the Millennium Stadium has hung as a heavy cloud over the squad since. Watching at home, he managed to resist the temptation to throw furniture or small children at the television, but he admits it was a deeply uncomfortable experience.

Lamont said: "I am a terrible spectator. Last year goes down in the records and people will forget we were down to 14 men. They will just remember we got pumped. Losing by 50 points, a record defeat to Wales, is not good."

A calf injury ruled Lamont out of contention for last weekend's clash with France but, having played in five of coach Vern Cotter's seven games in charge last year, he is confident that the New Zealander has brought something fresh, and potentially effective, to the party.

"Vern has an immense presence," said Lamont. "He said the minute he walked in if he was not speaking to me it was probably a good thing. It was quite nice to hear.

"He has simplified a lot of things from the autumn. Boys getting in shape a lot quicker means we play a lot better rugby. I was frustrated last week about not winning that one.

Our turnovers, particularly in the second half, were way too high and at international level, let alone the Six Nations, you can't be giving away ball that easily. It has been a big focus to keep the ball because if you keep the ball the opposition can't score. That is the big one and moving forward to the next one."

Lamont was on the field when Scotland registered their last win against Wales, but it is salutary to realise that eight years have passed since that day in 2007. Wales, of course, have had lean years as well, but they have also collected three Grand Slams during Lamont's time as a Test player.

Yet he is not in awe. "These are players we play against nearly every other week so we know what they are doing," he said. "Yes, it is different when we pull on the blue jersey and they pull on the red jersey but, player for player, we know that if we do things right this week we can come away with a win."