Scotland are hopeful they can make Wales fans turn on their team in Cardiff on Saturday when the NatWest Six Nations begins.
Wales have not lost at home to the Scots since 2002 and coach Warren Gatland has never lost to them with Wales as he was absent on Lions leave when Rob Howley’s team were beaten at Murrayfield last season.
But that has not stopped the Scots from believing they are about to turn the tide after their recent resurgence and defence coach Matt Taylor considers wavering Welsh fans could be about to lose the faith.
“They live in a goldfish bowl down there. It’s their major sport and they’ve won a fair amount in the past,” says Taylor.
“When things aren’t going as well, it can be tough for them – and their crowds can be tough on them. If we play well, that might happen.
“If we play to our ability and execute really well, we’re up there with the best in the world, as we showed in the autumn. We’re really confident in where we are as a nation. If we do our best in every Test, we’ll give ourselves an opportunity to do well in this tournament.”
Much has been made of the injury problems both teams have suffered in the lead in to the tournament, with Scotland having most concerns over a re-packaged front row.
Wales hooker Ken Owens has already stated the scrum is an area where Wales have been working hard to try and establish a dominance.
But Taylor rejects the idea that Scotland are weak in that area and says the lack of experience on the wing for Wales – where Josh Adams is making his debut and Steff Evans has only five caps – will be just as crucial.
He adds: “A couple of their wingers haven’t got many caps. Even though they’re very good players.
“So you can expect us to apply some pressure on those guys. Sometimes you can put pressure on individuals but don’t want to focus on that too much. In regards to where Warren Gatland thinks he can target us, I’m really confident in our forwards. I’m looking forward to seeing how that tussle ends up.
“We’ve got our own style of play in how we want to play the game in attack and defence,” said the coach. “We’re not going to change because that was the autumn and now we’re in the Six Nations. We want to play with the ball in hand. We want it to be up-tempo, quick both in attack and defence.
“That’s the type of game that we feel is going to benefit us. We’ll play that in the Six Nations or whenever we play.
Wales go into the Principality Stadium clash without around 500 caps’ worth of experience, having lost, among others, Sam Warburton, Jonathan Davies, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar and Rhys Webb.
While wings George North and Liam Williams could be in contention for next week’s Twickenham appointment with Six Nations title holders England, the current list of absentees has hit Wales hard.
But Wales head coach Gatland, whose starting line-up to face Scotland includes Test match debutant Josh Adams on the right-wing and a record 10 Scarlets players, will not be looking for excuses.
“We are all aware of the pressure on players, particularly after a Lions year,” he said.
“Players haven’t had a huge amount of time in the off-season to repair and recover.
“A lot of teams are in the same boat, but it’s just the way the game is going.
“I look at it as a positive. Other players are going to get an opportunity to put down a marker. It helps us develop depth for the World Cup in Japan in 2019,” he added.
Wales have not won the Six Nations title since 2013, and need a winning start against a side they last lost at home to 16 years ago, especially as they then face successive away games against England and Ireland.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell; 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Samson Lee, 4 Cory Hill, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 6 Aaron Shingler, 7 Josh Navidi, 8 Ross Moriarty
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Owen Watkin
Scotland:15 Stuart Hogg, 14Tommy Seymour, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 1 Gordon Reid, 2 Stuart McInally, 3 Jon Welsh, 4 Ben Toolis, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 John Barclay (capt), 7 Hamish Watson, 8 Cornell du Preez
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Pete Horne, 23 Sean Maitland
