Six Nations: Nicol looks for national boost

Glasgow Warriors captain Andy Nicol is confident that the professional clubs can offer Scotland coach Ian McGeechan a boost ahead of the Six Nations climax against Ireland next month.

Nicol is expected to skipper the national team against the Irish in the re-arranged Murrayfield clash on September 22 after the foot-and-mouth crisis forced the cancellation of the original game.

But Nicol believes that both the Warriors and Edinburgh Gunners can offer a timely boost for the game by seeing off the challenge of the Irish clubs in the Celtic League which gets under way tonight.

"People might draw comparisons from the Celtic League ahead of the Ireland game," said Nicol.

"But we can only go into the games looking to do the best for us as Glasgow.

"It would be great for Edinburgh and ourselves to beat the Irish teams but we can only focus on ourselves.

"But, if the Scotland team can get a boost from that, it means we have done something good."

The Warriors face an awkward trip to face Leinster in their opening game of the season while the Gunners play host to Munster at Myreside.

But Nicol anticipates that the opening weeks of the season will be as intense as ever with international jerseys up for grabs on both sides of the Irish Sea.

"The international season has moved forward as well. Usually, you have got eight or nine weeks before getting into internationals," said Nicol.

"But this year it is just four weeks which is very early to be playing an international match.

"But I think that will bring a bit of an edge to the first weeks of the season because players know they are playing for international places.

"An away game is always tough - it doesn't matter where you are going.

"We went to Donnybrook in the European Cup two years ago and, although it is a good place to play rugby, it is a hard place to go, but we are not expecting anything else.

"It is all down to how the teams have summered. It is still early in the year to be playing competitive rugby so it will be interesting to see how both teams equip themselves."