David Kelso Jason White wants fans of Scotland to cast off their inhibitions and become as "crazy" as the football fans that they sat among in Saint-Etienne on Saturday.
White and his team-mates take on the powerful Romanians at Murrayfield this evening knowing that anything other than a win would severely dent their World Cup quarter-final aspirations.
The captain believes that the more raucous the support, the better his side's prospects will be of recording a vital win. White said that, before returning to Edinburgh from France at the weekend, the Scotland players went to cheer on their adopted home-town football club, Saint-Etienne, in a league game against Caen.
"It was a whole new ball-game for me in terms of the sheer enthusiasm of the fans," he said. "All the respectable people sat in one stand and the rest were filled with real nutters. They were completely crazy. The noise was incredible and they never let up for the whole 90 minutes. It was probably just as well Saint-Etienne won 3-0.
"It was fantastic to see so many folk enjoying themselves so much, and we want to make sure our fans enjoy the match with Romania to the same degree. I don't think we will ever see a Murrayfield crowd behaving like the maddies of Saint-Etienne, but there is no doubt they can help us by giving it all they've got."
He was backed up by Nathan Hines, who said: "Our supporters are usually in great form at Murrayfield and we really need them to be because we are up against a bunch of massively powerful guys. I have played with and against a lot of Romanians in the French championship and they seem to have incredible strength.
"They may not be the most technically gifted rugby players, but they seem to breed them thick-set with amazing muscles there. Perhaps it is because so many of them come from agricultural backgrounds. They are always a handful."
Hines, the lock who plays his club rugby with Perpignan, admitted that Georgia's display against Ireland had reminded the Scots just how tricky a task they face. "I wasn't totally surprised at the way the Irish struggled because Georgia had given Argentina a hard time the previous week," he said. "I expect Romania to come at us in the same way. They will be abrasive up front, run hard at us and challenge us at every turn.
"Our aim will be to get some points on the board early. We must keep the ball moving, be focussed on our game and not be drawn into their slow style. And we have to find a balance between going wide and taking things up the middle."
Daniel Santamans, the coach of Romania, believes the venue will reduce his side's chances of pulling off a major shock. "It will be difficult to play them at their home ground, especially in a World Cup." he said.
Why Scotland will be wearing yellow . . .
SCOTLAND may be going into battle in their own back yard . . . but they will actually be playing away in every other respect, writes David Kelso.
Because the match is part of the France-based World Cup, the game is technically being staged at a neutral venue, and the Scots' hopes of enjoying home comforts were dashed by the toss of a coin.
One of the knock-on effects is that the sides will be kitted out in each other's colours. Graham Law, a Scotland spokesman, explained: "Before the tournament started, representatives of the managements tossed a coin to decide which country would have the choice of changing rooms at Murrayfield. Romania won and, not surprisingly, opted for the bigger home one the Scots would normally occupy.
"They were granted the choice of jersey colours and nominated their change outfit of blue instead of their usual yellow. That left Scotland having to resort to their second-choice kit . . .
which is yellow."
Law also revealed that the Scots won their coin-toss with New Zealand for Sunday's game at the same venue. Consequently, Frank Hadden's men will have their own dressing room and will wear the traditional navy blue kit, leaving the All Blacks to don their new grey reserve colours.
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