Scotland head coach Vern Cotter. Photo / Getty Images
There is a story, possibly apocryphal but probably containing a fair bit of truth, about New Zealander Vern Cotter's arrival this year as Scotland's head coach.
It goes that at the team's first training session he didn't say a word; didn't introduce himself as the (probably fairly nervous) players arrived,
didn't say anything to them as they warmed up, didn't speak at all. He just watched; looking at their body language, who the leaders were, how the players interacted with one another.
In other words, he kept them completely in the dark about who he was or what his methods were until he felt the time was right.
There is a lesson here for All Black counterpart Steve Hansen and his team, who are to some extent probably also in the dark about what to expect from Cotter and his side. The All Blacks should win comfortably at Murrayfield on Sunday and yet there is a real danger of taking Scotland too lightly and suffering a scare if not a major embarrassment.
There are likely to be a few changes to the All Black team from the one that dominated England at Twickenham and there will be a few more next week before the test against Wales in Cardiff, and fair enough, it is right for Hansen and co to ensure the whole squad gets game time ahead of the World Cup, which starts in less than 10 months. Lord knows, we heard about the impending global competition often enough from the press in London last week.
