Many of the Scotland camp have already spoken about belief. How, in the past, there were maybe doubts over this squad’s capabilities and limitations but that they had now been banished for good.
Even when captain Sione Tuipulotu and influential second- rower Scott Cummings were both ruled out of the entire Six Nations, when Josh Bayliss and Dylan Richardson also then dropped out, and when Italy were beaten but not convincingly on opening weekend, the message never wavered: this team is finally ready to compete for a Championship.
Scotland fans have no choice at this juncture but to take the coaches and players’ word for that.
Perhaps behind the scenes the various sessions with sports psychologists and mental strength gurus have had a telling impact.
Maybe having a number of individuals who have tasted glory at club level over the past year has rubbed off on the international collective.
Perhaps having a largely settled squad, most of whom are in or approaching their peak years, has provided a solid foundation for this new wave of self-belief.
Hat-trick hero Huw Jones and his beaming Scotland pals celebrate the win over Italy
Jones scores Scotland’s fifth try on an afternoon of positive and negative moments
Darcy Graham breaks free of the Italian rearguard to spark the decisive Scotland flourish
The cold truth, however, is that there is nothing tangible so far to back up any claims that this is a squad of renewed fortitude.
Simply wishing for a sustained tilt at the title, given no Scotland team has finished higher than third for a quarter of a century, isn’t going to make it happen.
Supporters have witnessed too many false dawns to allow themselves to be swept up in a wave of euphoria based on nothing more than empty rhetoric.
No, it is actions rather than words that will comprehensively show us whether this is a Scotland squad capable of achieving far better than those who went before them. And the day of judgment is moving closer.
That Scotland have never beaten Ireland in their previous 10 meetings is a damning statistic, one that would have cost some head coaches their jobs long before now.
The claim that it was a close one in Dublin last year also doesn’t hold water upon closer inspection, Scotland having failed to breach the Irish line and trailing 17-6 until two minutes from time when a Huw Jones converted try made it look tighter than it actually was.
Even the previous match at Murrayfield in 2023 was a case of what might have been as an Ireland side that lost both of its hookers during an attritional affair found a way to win despite falling behind early on to another Jones score.
It comes down to this Sunday, then. Defeating their arch-nemesis for the first time since 2017 — exactly eight years ago today — won’t guarantee Scotland a Grand Slam, a Championship or even second place.
But if they can navigate a way over this substantial mental hurdle, it will at least finally show that this is indeed a group capable of competing with the best. Words alone, after all, can only carry you so far.
‘We’ve improved massively,’ claimed winger Darcy Graham in the aftermath of the scrappy win over Italy. ‘I think the confidence is there, the belief is there. And that’s a big thing — we actually believe we can win now.
Graham takes the applause of fans walking off but said he wasn’t happy with his performance
‘I think, maybe two seasons ago, we spoke about it, about winning, but probably didn’t really believe it. And I think now is the time we genuinely believe it.
‘As individuals, Ireland are world class and, as a team, they’re world class too. On their day, they can turn up and put 30 points on you.
‘But control is always in our hands. It’s about not giving them easy penalties or an easy way into the game. It’s down to us. It’s about turning up on Sunday, being on the ball for the full 80 minutes and not letting them into the game.’
Ireland are without head coach Andy Farrell, on British and Irish Lions duty for the foreseeable future, and also lost established forwards Tadhg Furlong and Joe McCarthy to short-term injury.
Seeking an unprecedented third Championship in a row, they could have been vulnerable heading into their opening game against England but, again, found a way to battle through adversity to get the job done.
Scotland also deserve credit for surviving a mid-game wobble against Italy before coming through to win but, with that, comes the caveat that a better team would have punished those periods of indiscipline and sloppy play.
Co-captains Darge and Russell lift the Cuttitta Cup… but they have designs on more silverware
‘We started off really well against Italy then we lapsed a bit,’ added Graham. ‘It was individual errors that got them back in the game. Our discipline as well. We gave them 12 points off the tee so that’s a killer. If we do that against Ireland, it’s going to be a tough day.’
That both Graham and co- captain Finn Russell acknowledged the win over Italy was far from perfect was encouraging. There will be no resting on laurels.
It was Graham who provided the much-needed spark that helped snap the 19-19 tie, his vision to spot a gap infield then burst free to tee up Jones for the second score of his hat-trick making a significant difference.
The Edinburgh winger, though, wasn’t happy with either his own performance or the team’s.
‘That was really the first time I’d got on the ball, so it was a frustrating game for myself,’ he said. ‘I came off that pitch and wasn’t too pleased with how we had played.
‘But when we needed to come up with something I felt like I did, so I’m happy enough.
‘We needed a bit of magic, I created it and we scored off it. Sometimes, all you need is one bit of magic to get the team back on the front foot.’
Scotland fans will be hoping he’s saved some of that sparkle for Sunday.
