Battle-weary Scots seek divine inspiration from their own Godman

13 April 2012

Fly-half Phil Godman expects to lead Scotland to victory in the second Test
match against Argentina in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

The Edinburgh stand-off was confirmed as Dan Parks' replacement by coach Frank
Hadden following the 21-15 defeat to the Pumas in Rosario.

"I hope it will be very intense, very physical, a real battle," said Godman.

"I am really excited and super-nervous at the same time and I hope I could
bring something to the game.

In the fold: Phil Godman is praying for victory against The Pumas

"We have to get good ball so we can run better with the forwards and seal the
pace of the game. I am confident that with all the hard work of this week I
could help the team to achieve that goal."

The 26-year-old, who will win his ninth cap after being an unused substitute in
Rosario, believes Scotland need to find a rhythm if they are to level the series.

"We have to be more accurate as it is a narrow pitch and also give short
passes. Those were some of our mistakes last week.

"The breakdown will be important to have a more reasonable platform for the
forwards, something we didn't do last week.

"We need to kick the ball up as quickly as possible and attack them. I am sure
that doing that we can get the real pace of the game."

Glasgow Warriors openside flanker John Barclay was also named as a starter and
he is expected to bring balance in the breakdown.

The 21-year-old loose forward hopes to be Mike Blair's shadow in order to let
the scrum-half play freely.

"The contact areas were quite messy last week with Mike Blair getting caught
at the breakdown a lot," Barclay said.

"I know that part of my job is protecting him. We have to slow down their ball
as we can to make sure our ball is secure."

He added: "We are not expecting to win, we want to win desperately. It is a
very important match for us for the world ranking and to get more confidence."



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