Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie has talked up his side's ability to beat any team in world rugby on their day ahead of the Six Nations getting underway next week.
Gregor Townsend's men begin their campaign against England at Twickenham on Saturday, February 4, having lost just one of their last five Six Nations showdowns against their old rivals.
New England head coach Steve Borthwick recently hailed the quality of Scotland's current crop ahead of the contest, agreeing that they now boast their best squad in generations.
Scotland put more than 50 points on an Argentina side that beat England at Twickenham, were narrowly beaten by Australia and also threatened their first-ever victory over New Zealand during the Autumn internationals, at one stage scoring 23 points without reply before the All Blacks fought back to triumph.
The 2023 Six Nations promises to be a typically competitive tournament with Ireland and France ranked as the top two sides in world rugby, and England and Wales both under new management.
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However, Ritchie is confident that Scotland can more than hold their own if they are able to play their best rugby on a consistent basis throughout.
"I can only speak for my generation, but in terms of as a group we're in a really good place together," Ritchie told Sports Mole when asked whether he agreed with the assessment of the current crop being the best for decades.
"Everyone looks forward to coming into camp, it's a great environment for us and we know that we've got the ability to beat anyone on our day, and for us it's about finding that consistency of performance.
"I think individually the parts of our game are all there, it's just about stringing them together, and the boys are confident that we're getting close to doing that."
After facing England, Scotland take on Wales at home before back-to-back games against the two favourites for the trophy - away to France and at home against Ireland.
Townsend's men, who were beaten by Wales, France and Ireland in succession last year, then finish their campaign at home to Italy.
Barney Corkhill
