Wales opened the defence of their title with a disappointing 47-13 defeat to England, while Scotland are on a high after stunning the pre-tournament favourites France 20-16 at Murrayfield.

Ruddock rated Scotland's performance against France as close to perfect and, although Scotland have not won on the road in seven Six Nations outings, he is ready for a stiff challenge at the weekend.

''Scotland come to us on the back of a big win against France and now they have tasted success they will be hungry for more,'' he said.

''Scotland are strong up front and at the set-piece and have the kind of backs that can hurt you if you don't get your defensive lines right - but we will be playing our way and taking the game to them.

''I would rate Scotland 10 out of 10 against France at the weekend. They were excellent. I was really impressed.

''They are a very good all-round side and you could argue it is a much tougher task for us now than it would have been if they had lost.

''We need to play better than last weekend, we need to improve across the board, but we are not a million miles away. We have every confidence in our team, every confidence in our ability.'''