BEING club-mates helps but Tommy Seymour is adamant that Peter Horne can slip into the Scotland fly-half role and drive his side to victory against Italy on Saturday.
"I'm a massive fan of Peter's, I play with him week in and week out. He's a very intelligent footballer and has a great skill set," was the wing's verdict on his colleague.
Horne was invited into side to take over when Finn Russell was banned but it is is still an all-Glasgow back division except for Greig Laidlaw at scrum-half and if the pack provide the possession, Seymour, who has been recalled from an injury lay-off for the match, is convinced they can do the rest with Horne as the key man.
"There is no bias from me, all the boys at Glasgow and Scotland enjoy playing with him as he's an attack-minded player. He also defends all but he wants to do is to play rugby the way people want to see it played. We need to take the pressure off him and give him options. If we play the brand of rugby which is set out for us then I'm confident Peter has the skill set to implement a win for us.
""It's about being clinical. We've played very well in terms of our attacking rugby, we have shown flair and style. The boys want to get on the ball, make tackle breaks and give options. We are playing a brand of rugby which everyone is enjoying and that's showing with the attendances.
"The main thing is that we are creating those chances but we need to be patient and heads up about getting those opportunities and make sure we come away with the points. It's international rugby so it's small margins but fingers crossed the effort we have put in during training will push those fine margins on our favour."
Not that his personal experience allows him to feel in any way complacent about the threat that Italy pose. He has won both games he has played in, but in each case the Scots were behind going into the 79th minute.
"It was my second cap when Strokosch got that try in the last minute - a very enjoyable result," he said. "I was there last year as well when Duncy Weir did that drop goal and [Alex] Dunbar ran in those two tries. I have played them a couple of times and it has been very nail-biting on both occasions. Hopefully we don't go as far as that this year.
"The fact these games were so close is an example of how tough they are. They are an incredible tough team to break down. The previous two results shows how close these games are and how far you have to push, and how hard you have to work to get a result over them."
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