Geech plans to make impact

Ian McGeechan is confident his Scotland side can make an impact on the World Cup as he prepares his side to face Japan in Townsville on Sunday.

Scotland endured mixed fortunes in their warm-up matches, losing to Ireland and Wales and beating Italy, but McGeechan is focusing all his energies on the challenges ahead.

He admits the Australian weather on Sunday will play into the hands of Japan but is nevertheless confident his side can start in a positive manner.

He said: “We’re just looking very much at what we want to do, and if we get that right then we know we can have an impact on this tournament and that’s what I want us to do.

“I’ve spoken before about the importance of building momentum from the first game in the tournament so there was no doubt in my mind that we must start with a very strong selection.

“We’re trying to get what we hope is a strong combination up front and in the backs. Obviously we look specifically at what Japan have done in the past and try and select accordingly.

“The bottom line is that we wanted to put out a side that we think from a Scottish point of view can be very, very effective.”

“We also know, though, that we’ll be asked some very testing questions on Sunday – by the Japanese and by weather conditions that are far from the norm for us.”

The return of injured duo Tom Smith and Scott Murray from thumb and knee injuries respectively is a boost for Scotland, and McGeechan is confident enough in the depth of his squad to rest two of his most experienced players, fly-half Gregor Townsend and hooker Gordon Bulloch.

Both are on the bench, Townsend recovering from pre-World Cup knee surgery and likely to play a role at some stage as McGeechan rotates his players through the sapping conditions.

Leeds’ Gordon Ross takes on Townsend’s fly-half duties, while Rob Russell will start at hooker.