Fraser Brown’s medical history may suggest he should be among the first to welcome the introduction of headgear that could reduce the risk of concussion on the rugby field, but his reaction yesterday to a report recommending its mandatory use served as evidence that the sport’s law-makers will have to get involved if every player is to take advantage of improved protection.

Published this week in the British Medical Journal the findings of a study conducted by Dundee University’s Institute of Motion and Research seem unequivocal, suggesting that risk is reduced almost by half if equipment that is currently on the market that is worn and consequently calling on the sport’s authorities to insist upon the wearing of protective headgear. Brown has meanwhile suffered more than most as a result of head knocks, spending a lengthy period on the sidelines last season as symptoms refused to clear up, but he has yet to be persuaded.

“I know there is a study that came out this morning but it has only just come out and it will take quite a long time to see what the results from that study are and whether it is something that would be beneficial going forward,” he observed. “I don’t wear one at the moment purely from a personal preference point of view but going forward I don’t know, I would have to see what the results say. I don’t know enough about it. I think I wore it once when I was a kid… I don’t feel that comfortable wearing it because I don’t feel I can play properly, maybe can’t hear as well.

“That’s not a protective thing for me, it’s aesthetic and a function thing for performance. It’s a personal thing, other players might want to use it, but the study has just come out, I’ve not read it, I’ve been learning my stuff for this week. If there was a study that came out and said it was enormously beneficial thing then that would be different. There’s not enough evidence one way or the other.”

More immediately the Glasgow hooker’s greater concern is on making sure he has full use of all of his faculties in doing battle with Stuart McInally, the Edinburgh captain who has led the national team on his last two Test starts and replaced him on Saturday.

Brown put in a fine performance, scoring the first of Scotland’s tries and denied a second only after the intervention of the video replay official and he is drawing confidence from pushing McInally as hard as he is for a regular place in the starting line-up.

“I think Stuart has been playing world class, (but) there’s a lot of hookers when they are playing on form could be described as that,” he noted.

“We’ll probably be coming up against Malcolm Marx at the weekend who, over the past 18 months, has probably been the stand-out hooker in the world. From my point of view when I play well I can be up there so the focus for me is to be as consistent and put pressure on.

“It’s a bit of a cliché because everyone always says it but it is generally good to have real competition, not just in my position, but across all positions. You know you can’t have an off day, or make a couple of mistakes because that pressure’s on. We work together really well in training which is good because it means you’ve got that competitive edge, but you can still work together, so it just means you have to focus on what you’re doing, how you perform and make sure you’re performing as best as you can.”

Brown has meanwhile been amused by the increasing glamour attached to his position, given the extraordinary run of try-scoring form achieved by hookers, McInally, Brown, George Turner - who scored a hat-trick after replacing Brown in Canada in the summer - and Ross Ford, who set the tone with two tries in Gregor Townsend’s first game in charge last year, collectively scoring at a rate of almost a try per game under the current management. Remarkably, the 15 tries they have scored in those 16 matches since Ford claimed that brace against Italy, adds up to as many as Scotland hookers had scored in their previous 271 Tests, however Brown thinks it is merely evidence of a team that now carries a scoring threat in every department.

“We’ve got a good maul and set-piece which gives opportunities for hookers to score tries at the back of that, because that’s the way it’s set up,” he pointed out.

“We have dangerous guys all over the field and the way we play rugby creates opportunities for people to score tries.”

That includes reverting to whatever it takes and Brown suggested that with the world rankings currently suggesting that there is nothing between the teams, Saturday’s outcome could come down to which team gets away with most in the discipline that has allowed Scotland’s hookers to become so prolific.

“They’ve got a strong maul, we’ve got a strong maul...They’ll try and cheat and we’ll try and cheat and whoever comes out on top will probably win.”

“They’ve got a strong maul, we’ve got a strong maul, both of us will you’re just looking for a fair competition in all areas. They’ll try and cheat and we’ll try and cheat and whoever comes out on top will probably win.”