John Barclay: Today is a perfect chance to end the frustration

IT’S BEEN a frustrating few weeks for the team and for me from a personal point of view, so getting back into the starting XV for a huge game is a fantastic feeling. I have a chance to lay down a marker and show what I can do.

As a Glasgow Warrior, I’m delighted to see Graeme Morrison back in the team. He is often tagged as a one-dimensional ball carrier, but that is not the case. He is a good passer and off-loader, and will have Sean Lamont outside him so we’re not short of physical presence in the backs.

Another Warrior, Stuart Hogg, is making his first start. Our full-back is only 19 and an exciting young talent, but he’s a grounded sort of guy who shows a maturity beyond his years. He is ready for this start, and I am excited for him and about what he could do for Scotland.

I am probably seen as the old man of the back row, but I would like to point out that Ross Rennie is actually older than me. With 34 of them, I have many more caps than Ross and Dave Denton so I know people will be looking to me as the most experienced of the unit.

The fact I am playing blindside instead of openside where I have mostly played for Scotland doesn’t concern me. The way Scotland play, I would actually be looking to get my hands on the ball a bit more.

When it is packed out and Scotland are playing well, there’s not many better places to play rugby than Murrayfield. When the stadium is going crazy and everyone’s singing, the energy just transmits itself to the team. We Scots as a nation can be quite undemonstrative and even quiet, but for the players, the best thing that the fans can do is make a lot of the right noise – it really does make a difference to our energy levels.

We’ve had the chance to think about the first two matches and the thing that struck me is that we were leading against England at half-time and we should have been leading against Wales at the break. Some of the stuff we played against Wales in the first half was terrific, yet we managed to lose both matches in the second half, which suggests that though we are playing the right game at the right tempo, we are falling slightly short. A lot has been said about us not scoring tries, yet we did score two against Wales if you count the disallowed one, and while we have been doing nothing specific in training, we have been concentrating on taking chances when the opportunities present themselves.

We know as a team that we need to score tries, and while the players have been scoring for their clubs, it is harder to get tries at international level, but we are confident they will come.

The French always provide a different sort of challenge and they are very difficult to beat – I have yet to play on a winning side against them. They will provide a real test for our scrum in particular, because last year they dominated that area.They also have probably the best lineout in the Six Nations, so the set piece is going to be a serious challenge for us today. You can take it that we have been working hard on the scrummaging machine and on our lineouts. We will win the ball, and our backs have the size and skill to attack the French.

They will be tough to beat, but if we play with the tempo and ambition we showed against Wales, there’s no reason why we can’t do well and win.