Ali Price says Scotland are firmly back on track for rugby World Cup
Ali Price believes Scotland are firmly back on track for the World Cup after hitting the buffers in Nice.
Gregor Townsend's side endured a nightmare start to their four-game warm-up schedule last month as they suffered a five-try pasting from France.
But that painful lesson on the Riviera served as a timely wake-up call for the Dark Blues and they have responded impressively.
Les Bleus were toppled back in Edinburgh a week later while they then ran in 11 tries over six days as Georgia were thumped both home and away.
Now with three-straight wins under their belt, Glasgow scrum-half Price says it is full-steam ahead for the Scots as they now eye up their opening clash with Ireland in Japan on September 22.
''It definitely feels like we've got the momentum back,'' said Price. ''You can see how we're trying to play now.
It's a shame we put in that performance out in Nice. We'd all worked hard to get ourselves in position to play in the first game - but we let ourselves down.
It shouldn't have taken that but we have reacted from that.
Coming from behind to beat France at home and then doing a professional job on a tough Georgian side at home and away is good momentum for us ahead of leaving on Monday and we'll hope to take it into the Ireland game.
You should never need a wake-up call to play international rugby or represent your country but I guess if ever there was time to have that, then that first warm-up game is it.
We'd rather take it then than having stuttered past Georgia on Friday and then everyone is saying the next game means something when we leave on Monday.
We've built nicely. We're down to the final 31-man squad so we're a tight-knit group and we're in a good place. We all know what it's going to take to do something special at this tournament.
Ireland is all that matters now and if we can get off to a flyer it will be massive for the set-up of the pool.''
Price did his selection chances for that showdown with Joe Schmidt's team in Yokohama no harm at all as he opened the scoring against the Lelos.
But the likelihood is he will have to be content with a seat on the bench, with vice-captain Greig Laidlaw the favourite to take the nine jersey for the clash with the Irish.
Price, though, insists there will be no sulking from those who miss out on a starting slot for the big kick-off as he hailed the sense of unity flowing through Townsend's camp.
''It's going to take all 31 players for us to do anything in this tournament,'' he said. ''It's not 15 or a 23 who will rattle through every game we play. It will be a total squad effort.
Training is fun but regardless of whether you're playing or not, there is a job to do and that's about getting the result on the weekend.
Everyone is buying into that. There's no one thinking they are only here to fill a slot if someone gets injured.
Everyone wants to have a go against Ireland and that's a really healthy position to be in.''