SOME random events from 1983. Aberdeen are lording it over Real Madrid in a European football final, while in world affairs, a handbag-wielding female Conservative Prime Minister in Margaret Thatcher cosies up to an unpredictable, bellicose Republican US President in Ronald Reagan.
If history is repeating itself in terms of global geopolitics some 34 years down the line in the form of Teresa May and Donald Trump, perhaps that is good news for the Scotland rugby team, because March of that year was also the last time they succeeded in beating England at Twickenham.
Like the rest of this Scotland team, hooker Fraser Brown is young enough to feel slightly insulted when it was enquired if he was born when that famous 22-12 win took place. As this group of Scotland players march on London this week hoping for the win that would secure them their first triple crown since 1990, it is typical that this stoic 27-year-old is determined to focus on the details and not get obsessed with all the weight of history surrounding this match.
“I think stuff like that is more important to the media and the fans,” said the Glasgow Warriors hooker, a key part of a smoothly-functioning Scottish scrum and line-out against Wales. “We don’t look at that. If you think about the weight of history and things like that it affects the way you approach the game and takes your focus away from what’s important, and that’s the details.
“But it’s a hard place to go and win, lots of teams have gone there before with very good sides and not won,” he added. “But the performances you’ve seen in the past year have been building for a while. I think you can see the skill we have on show. The difference now is maybe having the confidence and self belief to execute those skills.
“If we go behind like we did against Ireland or Wales it’s about having that confidence in the guys around you to know that you are always going to get an opportunity. It’s about having that level headedness to execute those opportunities, I think in years gone by we got a bit frantic.”
Vern Cotter has done a fine job of developing a professional mindset amongst these players – they know that executing their skills and game plan with precision and accuracy is their best way of achieving their aims. But don’t underestimate the emotions which will be bubbling away beneath the surface.
“England are unbeaten in a lot of games and they’re the form team in the world right now so you know you’re going to have to play well,” said Brown. “So we will have to play a lot better than we did against Wales, cut out some of the mistakes and tighten up in a few areas.
“You want to put in a performance and win because the coaches have put in such hard work,” said Brown. “They look at these fixtures a month in advance, they prepare a game plan and work on it hard. For this group of players it’s an enormous thing to keep progressing and to keep progressing we need to be performing every week.
“Yes, it’s for the coaches but for ourselves as well, to try to achieve something in a Scotland Jersey,” Brown added.
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