Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw has told his side to put this year's World Cup in Japan to the back of their minds and focus on the immediate challenge of the Six Nations.
Scotland begin their Six Nations campaign at home to perennial Championship strugglers Italy on Saturday.
The Azzurri will kick-off at Murrayfield having lost their last 17 successive matches in the Six Nations.
But Italy's last win in the Championship was in Edinburgh in 2015 and they nearly ended their tournament losing streak in the final game of last year's edition before Laidlaw's last-ditch penalty denied them a victory in Rome.
Asked if there was any extra significance to a Six Nations in a World Cup year, Laidlaw said Friday: "None from a player's point of view.
"We want to be a successful team and we want to be successful in the Six Nations. It's such a long time to the World Cup so as a playing group, we can't look at that. That'll be more the coaches looking ahead and planning."
The scrum-half, who now play his club rugby for French side Clermont, added: "We've spoken about our group. We want to do well in this competition and it starts tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.
"We'll always respect the opposition and we do with Italy. The last time we played them in Rome we should have been beaten but it's up to us to hold our standards and we're confident we can take anyone on at home."
Scotland have won 10 of their last 12 matches at Murrayfield and with three of their fixtures in this Six Nations in Edinburgh, the captain is confident they can maintain that run despite a home loss to South Africa in November.
Scotland's resurgence has been built on the foundations of a solid home record at Murrayfield.
"The confidence we get from playing at home is still there because the Springboks match was a game we certainly could have won against a very good team," said Laidlaw.
"We're really proud of our record here and we want to build on it. We don't fear anyone playing here at BT Murrayfield," added Laidlaw.
AFP
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