Andy Robinson’s men will conclude their autumn action against Samoa, who pushed Ireland close in a 20-10 defeat before troubling England in a 26-13 loss, on Saturday.

And despite Dan Parks’ six penalties and a drop goal ensuring Scotland will line-up against the South Sea Islanders in high spirits, Ford is desperate to sign off the year in style.

“We can't afford to beat teams like South Africa one day then take a step back so this Saturday is an extremely important game for us as we try to build going forward,” said Ford.

“We'll savour the moment and enjoy it then get back to work.

“We have Samoa at Aberdeen on Saturday and they have really talented players like Seilala Mapusua of London Irish in the centre who is a strong runner and a good ball player

“Samoa are a class act and it certainly won't be any less physical.

“But with the main focus on what we do it is now about taking on what we did and improving what we need to improve. If we want to put a run together we have to be consistent.

“That means competing every time we take the field and last week against New Zealand we didn't turn up.”