Pete Horne has given an insight into the driven mindset of record-chasing Scotland wing Duhan Van Der Merwe ahead of the Guinness Six Nations showdown with Italy in Rome.
The 28-year-old’s match-defining hat-trick against England a week past Saturday took him to 26 international touchdowns, within one of Stuart Hogg at the top of the Scots’ list of all-time try-scorers.
Van Der Merwe could equal or break the record if he crosses the whitewash at the Stadio Olimpico this weekend.
But assistant coach Horne revealed how the combative wing returned to camp last Thursday – just five days after his Calcutta Cup heroics – and immediately wanted to start working on becoming stronger in contact and not getting turned over as often.
“He just showed against England how much quality he’s got,” said Horne.
“The match before (against France), I think he was a little bit disappointed that he hadn’t broken a tackle for the first time in his life.
“It just shows the manner of him as he saw that almost as a challenge and he was outstanding against England.
“I love Duhi’s character. I probably underestimated how much of a student of the game he is before I came in (as a coach).
“I love working with him because he’s always looking for little bits to work on.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘We need to catch up. I need to work on when defenders are soaking on me I keep getting reefed because I’ve got nobody to bump’.
“He’s scored three tries, got man of the match and that was the first thing he’s come out with when we came in last Thursday. He’s got a real growth mindset around his game. He’s constantly looking at ways to get better.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before he scores another couple and gets that record for himself.”
Scotland have lost influential centre Sione Tuipulotu for the remainder of the Six Nations due to a knee injury sustained against England, with Bath’s Cam Redpath expected to deputise in Rome.
“Cam was outstanding off the bench against England,” said Horne. “He’s been pushing the boys who have been starting really hard and has been pushing for an opportunity for a long time.
“He was so well prepped and performed so well after having to come on early in the game. I was so chuffed for him.
“Cam’s having a great season. He and Finn are going really well together at Bath. Speaking to their coaches, I know Cam is very highly regarded there.
“He’s just got something about him. He’s a Test match animal and he’s got real X Factor. If he gets the nod this weekend, we’ll all be really excited to see him play.”
Scotland are currently second in the Six Nations table after winning two of their three matches so far, but they would need a favour from England against Ireland on Saturday in order to take their title bid to a last-weekend showdown in Dublin.
“We’re not talking too much about any of that,” said Horne. “We’ve spent the whole week talking about controlling everything that is in our power.
“We need to do a professional job this weekend, go over there and beat Italy. That’s all we are focused on.
“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at. We feel like the tweaks to our game, the way we’ve evolved since the World Cup, have been good.
“We’re right in the mix and we should be three from three (after what would have been a match-winning try against France was controversially disallowed).
“We can’t be disappointed with that but we definitely feel that we’ve left a lot of opportunities out there.
“It’s a good place to be where we’re getting some decent results but we’re still not playing quite at our potential.”
'World-class' Scotland will provide Wallabies' sternest test – Skelton
Australia will face their sternest test to date when they continue their autumn tour against a "world-class" Scotland team at Murrayfield on Sunday.
That is the view of forward Will Skelton, who believes the Wallabies' victories in England and Wales have brought a new energy and confidence to their camp.
Having crashed out in the pool stage at last year's World Cup in France before finishing last in the Rugby Championship, Australia have looked a team reborn in recent weeks.
A first victory at Twickenham since 2015 and a 52-20 rout of Wales – their biggest-ever away win in matches between the teams – have made it an excellent tour to date for Joe Schmidt's side.
But La Rochelle lock Skelton feels their toughest assignment is to come this week, saying: "We've won two games, we're very aware of that.
"The Test against Scotland is going to be the hardest one yet. We're excited about this weekend and we're looking forward to ripping into it.
"Physically they're up there with the top five in the world. I think set-piece wise they're really strong.
"You've got a guy like Finn Russell who's a maestro at the back there. I think it's going be a close one and we'll be up for it.
"There's some class players in the Scottish team and, when they're at it they're world-class, so we're going to have to be on top of our game."
Wales must 'show courage and front up' against South Africa, says Gatland
Warren Gatland has urged Wales to "show real courage and front up" in their final Autumn Nations clash against South Africa.
Gatland's side bring the curtain down on a disappointing year when they welcome the reigning world champions to the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales have lost an unprecedented 11 straight Tests, and could go an entire calendar year without tasting success for the first time since 1937.
Gatland has made four changes from last weekend's 52-20 defeat to Australia, with Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Plumtree all coming into the starting XV.
Gareth Anscombe, Aaron Wainwright and Cameron Winnett drop out of the squad, while Adam Beard misses out through injury.
And Gatland wants his players to demonstrate fighting spirit against the Springboks.
"Last week's result hurts, and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
"There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
"We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week, we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions."
'Playing for England is the Mecca' according to Itoje amid global breakaway talk
Maro Itoje has reaffirmed his commitment to England amid talks of a proposed global breakaway league.
Steve Borthwick’s side are looking to end their five-match losing run when they face Japan in their final match of the autumn series on Sunday.
But there is fear that Borthwick could lose many of his players to the new league that reportedly are offering 40 £1m-a-season contracts for marquee players and more periods of rests for the players.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) only select players for the national team from English clubs, meaning any player joining the breakaway league would jeopardise their Test career.
But Itoje has insisted that playing for England is the pinnacle for him and his teammates.
"I don't really know any of the details of it as yet, but wearing this rose is extremely important to me and my teammates," said Itoje.
"Playing for England is the Mecca."
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