Two-try hero Sean Lamont is refusing to get too carried away by Scotland’s stunning 20-16 RBS 6 Nations win over France.
Frank Hadden’s men produced one of the biggest upsets in recent Six Nations history in beating the tournament’s red-hot favourites at Murrayfield on Sunday, and Lamont’s contribution to the victory was immense.
The 25-year-old scored a try in each half as the Scots got their Six Nations campaign of to the best possible start, and the Northampton Saints winger felt it was a result they fully deserved, particularly after running the French so close in Paris last year.
”We’re completely over the moon to have won,’ Lamont told said. ”It was a dream start for us, although we’re not going to get carried away by one win.
”We hadn’t beaten France since 1999 in Paris and it’s even longer since we beat them at Murrayfield, so we felt we were due a win against them – especially after running them so close last year.’
Lamont, who is building a reputation as a top-quality international wing three-quarter, paid tribute to the Murrayfield crowd, who contributed to a magnificent atmosphere at Scottish rugby’s headquarters.
The powerful winger is convinced they played a major part in Scotland’s triumph.
”It was the loudest I’ve ever heard it at Murrayfield and that gave us a real boost. It’s such a fun place to play when the atmosphere’s like that,’ he said.
But while Lamont felt the crowd played a part in the triumph, he reserved special praise for the contribution of coach Hadden.
The former Edinburgh coach took over from Australian Matt Williams on a permanent basis in the summer of 2005 and he has gone about instilling a confidence and a self-belief in the squad that was so obviously lacking under his predecessors.
Lamont joined in with fellow team-mates Jason White and Chris Paterson in praising Hadden’s methods.
”Frank has done such a good job in instilling confidence into the side and we’re playing with some real belief now, but it’s going to take time for us to gel together properly so we’re taking one step at a time,’ Lamont said.
”Frank wants the players playing with their heads up, and if things aren’t going to plan out on the pitch then he expects players to react to the situation and make the right decisions.’
Scotland have clearly taken some huge strides under Hadden, and while they are moving forward, there is a suggestion Wales are going in the opposite direction – particularly after their 47-13 defeat to England on Saturday.
Scotland go to Cardiff to face last year’s Grand Slam champions on Sunday with a renewed sense of optimism, but Lamont will not be taking anything for granted against Mike Ruddock’s team.
”We’ve got to be very careful of Wales next week and work hard to make sure they don’t bounce back from their defeat,’ he said.
”I saw the whole game and they held England for the first 60 minutes before fading away towards the end.
”They’ve still got a team full of quality players and they’ll take some beating. We’ll need to work hard to impose our game on them.’
