Graeme Morrison wants fans to bring Murrayfield fire to Pittodrie

Scotland have experienced a rollercoaster ride that plumbed the depths in the opening week against New Zealand, hitting the nadir of a record 49-3 Murrayfield defeat to the All Blacks, and then rose to an unexpected zenith on Saturday with a 21-17 win over South Africa.

The Scots upped sticks and moved in to their Aberdeen base yesterday ready to welcome Samoa to the chilly north. The Pacific Islanders have run Ireland and England closer than many expected - losing just 26-13 at Twickenham on Saturday - and added to their renowned defensive and attacking strength a new level of Test-quality organisation.

Morrison has developed from the skilful centre who would take players on the outside in his youth into a direct, modern-day centre, but still with the sharp footwork and, as evidenced by his tracking of Springbok winger Gio Aplon for a try-saving tackle, pace on the rare occasions he finds space.

His rock-like presence at the heart of Scotland's defence in Test wins over Australia, South Africa, Argentina, England and Ireland, in 32 months and 27 caps, however, cannot be underestimated and will be needed on Saturday against a Samoan back line anchored by Seilala Mapusua, the London Irish No 12 and arguably Samoa's top player. Morrison insisted this game was as important as any in the recent past.

"The main objective for us is to keep on improving," said the 28-year-old, "so we're not going to look at Saturday's result and think that we're world-beaters overnight. We were humbled quite severely just over a week ago, so we know that when we perform for Scotland we have to be at our best to win the game and that's going to be no different this week. Samoa have had a couple of defeats, but they've been tight and we expect them to come up and create a very tough encounter.

"I do think it's great for the team to experience playing in different parts of Scotland and giving some supporters a bit further away the chance to get behind us. The crowd definitely play a massive part. By no means was the stadium full against South Africa, but the support we did have was absolutely phenomenal, especially later on in the second half when they got behind us.

"They can definitely take some credit for that win; the passion definitely transmitted onto the pitch.It's what I love about playing at Murrayfield. Scotland fans have something about them that just creates more noise than other fans. I heard the countdown from the fans at the end and the feeling of elation when Rory (Lawson] kicked it out was absolutely awesome, but that's what we need behind us again in Aberdeen to finish on a high."

Reflecting on Saturday's Test win, his first over the Springboks, Morrison identified the amount of communication as probably the most underrated factor in the team getting more right than wrong against South Africa.

"I can't imagine too many people looked at the weather and thought that was an enjoyable game to play in, but that definitely was. We had looked at the video from the New Zealand game in great detail, and we did many things wrong, but they were small things that added up to a crushing defeat. We fixed these small things during the week and knew we owed it to ourselves, the management and the fans to put in a performance, so I'm pleased that we did that.

"The main thing that sticks in my mind was the energy and the enthusiasm that everybody was involved in creating, buzzing each other up and communicating well. I believe it starts with the talk. We were a bit quiet (against New Zealand], and with talk comes the desire, the spurring each other on to put the work in, and the energy to get off the defensive line and put South Africans on the floor.

"We knew they were a very physical side, and knew they'd come and try to bully us off the park, but our forwards did a sterling job of driving them and getting on top of them at various points in the game.

"New Zealand play a much more expansive game, but the South Africans bring a real physical dominance. Both teams are world-class and we saw that throughout the Tri Nations - either team could win - so it was a different challenge, but not any easier. They came hard and I'm glad to say we prepared for it this week.

"It wasn't a great day for handling the ball but the times we did do it I thought we handled quite effectively and we'll be hoping to build on that and play a bit against the Samoans."

The question for many in the squad now is how much of the winning team the coaches will stick with and who they might throw in to gain experience. It is a tough quandary as Andy Robinson runs out of Test opportunities for inexperienced players such as Ruaridh Jackson and Ross Rennie, who could be big players in 2011, yet also needs to cement the good aspects from Saturday and improve the team's attack and finishing skills in particular.Max Evans, Mike Blair, Rory Lamont, Scott Lawson, Jim Hamilton and Alastair Kellock are among capped performers who missed out at the weekend but could be back in the frame, while Joe Ansbro enjoyed a good debut and would clearly love the chance to build on it.

Morrison, who was one of three former Dollar Academy players developed by the great schools coach John Foster in the Scotland XV on Saturday - Rory Lawson and John Barclay the others - was impressed by how quickly his new midfield partner had slotted in.

"It was disappointing that Max didn't make it, but it was a seamless swap-over," he said. "Joe came in and did as good a job as you would expect of an international player and that shows that we are getting ore strength in depth, which is healthy for the team and I hope that continues into the future."

He added: "It is a great feeling to beat South Africa but we have to build on it now.

"These wins are coming more often for us and if we can keep on improving then I think we'll be able to do something special as a group of players.

"And that's what we play the game for."