Zander Fagerson believes Scotland have “grown as a team” since suffering a deflating defeat against Ireland 10 months ago.
Scotland return to Dublin on Saturday for an Autumn Nations Cup third-place play-off encounter.
The last time they took on Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, it resulted in a 19-12 Guinness Six Nations loss.
And their sense of frustration was highlighted when skipper Stuart Hogg knocked on in the act of touching down for a second-half try.
Scotland have not won in the Irish capital for 10 years, but they showed their mettle on the road by recently beating Wales at Parc y Scarlets, which was a first triumph on Welsh soil since 2002.
“We were pretty gutted and kicking ourselves after that Ireland game in February,” Glasgow prop Fagerson said.
“We definitely had a few opportunities to win the game, but that was 11 months ago and we’ve definitely grown as a team from then.
“We’ve got a few new threats and improved in certain areas, particularly the contact area, which wasn’t where it needed to be in February, when we let them off the hook a few times.
“It is a big opportunity against a top-class team, so we’re looking forward to going there and hopefully finishing third in this competition.
“We’ve not been looking at games gone by or the history of not winning in Ireland for however long, we just see it as a great opportunity to go over there and get a win, and it would be exactly the same if we were at home.”
Ireland’s forwards endured a torrid afternoon at Twickenham 10 days ago when they were dismantled by an England pack that underpinned a key victory on their march towards next Sunday’s Nations Cup final.
Fagerson, though, has plenty of experience when it comes to facing Irish opposition up front, and he knows what to expect.
“They are always a very physical pack,” he added. “I have played against (Ireland props) Cian Healy and Andrew Porter for many years.
“They have got (lock) James Ryan, CJ Stander in the back row. It’s always a physical encounter, it doesn’t matter if it is domestically or internationally.
“I am looking forward to a physical confrontation, if selected. It’s going to be a tough 80-minute slog.”
The Nations Cup action has been criticised in many quarters for the quality of rugby on show, given a heavy kicking emphasis and attacking rugby being at a premium.
And Fagerson said: “I do understand some of the fans’ frustrations, but as a player I think defence is improving and attack is improving.
“It is hard to score points, it is hard to gain territory and possession, so the sport as a whole is growing.
“I understand it can be frustrating to watch, but trying to create mismatches isn’t as easy as it used to be. I wouldn’t say it is boring, there are still a few nuggets, and you just need to be patient.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here