Scotland struggled under the management of Matt Williams but Petrie insists the appointment of interim coach Frank Hadden can spark a revival ahead of forthcoming games with the Barbarians on May 24 and Romania on June 5.

The 28-year-old Glasgow skipper said: ''It's quite exciting. No disrespect to Romania, but we're not playing against the biggest opposition and we're quite aware that we need to get performances and results back on the board just to get a bit of excitement back in the game in Scotland.

''It's very important, especially when things have been so low over the past year, that guys get out there and actually enjoy what they do. It's training with smiles on your faces and getting guys enjoying playing rugby again.

''That's the theme we'll be taking through training and into the matches as well. But at the same time you need to put in the performances.

''It's never nice to see, especially for Six Nations matches, when you've not got a full house at Murrayfield. I just hope the public in Scotland can get behind us now.

''Everyone is aware of the fact it's a fresh start and I would hope it's a fresh start for supporters as well and that they feel they can get behind us because it's at times like this that we really need their help.''

And, with Hadden's Edinburgh Rugby teams having earned a reputation for an exciting, expansive style of play, Petrie is hopeful those who do turn out at Pittodrie for the clash with the famous Barbarians will see an exciting game-plan which was only fleetingly seen in the RBS 6 Nations.

He added: ''It's trying to harness the things we did well in the Six Nations. There were an awful lot of things we didn't do well but at the same time we played some great stuff. It's about trying to do that more consistently.

''We've got some great broken-field runners in our team and it's about using them to the best of their abilities and I think the style of rugby Frank wants to play will lend itself to that.''