Zander Fagerson says that there is no chance he and his Scotland colleagues will ever be allowed to rest on their laurels under new head coach Gregor Townsend.
After succeeding Vern Cotter, Townsend will lead Scotland for their three-Test tour against Italy, Australia and Fiji next month.
Prop Fagerson worked under Townsend at Glasgow Warriors and the 21-year-old, who took part in his first training camp under Scotland’s new boss last week, reckons that there are plenty of differences to the Cotter regime, but that doesn’t mean that the current coaching staff are any less demanding.
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“It’s been good to get back involved and get back together with the boys and new coaching staff,” said Fagerson.
“It’s been weird to have Gregor there, though. We’ve just finished the season at Glasgow and now we’ve come back in, and it feels like a Glasgow session again.
“The coaching techniques are different to Vern’s but we’re all getting to know each other.
“You can make a mistake and not get yelled at – with Vern, you’d just get a telling off.”
The two coaches have contrasting styles, according to Fagerson, with Townsend bringing fresh ideas to the Scotland camp.
The Warriors man added: “I’d say the approach has changed under Gregor. We’re recapping a few things and he’s bringing things from Glasgow, but new things as well.
“It’s a blank slate for everyone. We’re just trying to get as much in as possible so there’s a lot of work; a lot of notes
“Vern and Gregor are two fantastic coaches and both get their point across. You either buy in or you don’t.
“Gregor likes a review and likes seeing you doing your work and going over your clips. He likes you to do that instead of him coming to you.
“It’s all about the process of performance and detail. If you don’t run your dummy lines, you’ll hear about it but in different ways.
“One puts the fear of God into you and the other says: ‘just do it again’.”
Townsend’s Scotland play Italy in New Zealand on June 10 before away Tests against Australia and Fiji on June 17 and 24 respectively.
