Scotland’s autumn series will go to the dogs if they fail to blow away toothless Wolves at Murrayfield

With a squad made up largely of part-time and amateur players, Portugal was expected to be cannon fodder at last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Led by Tomas Appleton, a man who runs his own dental clinic in Lisbon when not playing rugby for the national team, they were expected to be eaten and spit out.

“Rugby doesn’t pay the bills in Portugal,” noted Appleton ahead of the World Cup, the center taking charge again at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Yet the Portuguese, who competed alongside Wales, Australia, Fiji and Georgia in one of the toughest groups of the tournament, were not as toothless as many had expected.

They defeated Fiji 24-23 in their final match in what was one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. They drew 18-18 against Georgia, a team that had long argued for inclusion in the Six Nations.

They did well in the defeats against Wales and Australia and would eventually finish above Georgia in the final standings in Group C.

Darcy Graham is probably the oldest player in Scotland’s starting XI at Murrayfield

Gregor Townsend and his players know they will hide from nothing against Portugal

But Portugal has faltered somewhat since the World Cup. Inconsistent and unreliable: They have won just two of their last five games.

Since their World Cup trip in France a year ago, they have lost to teams like Belgium and the USA.

Even against Scotland’s second string at Murrayfield the expectation is that they will be blown away.

For Scotland that is the core. Despite this limited opposition, Gregor Townsend’s men are essentially looking for nothing.

If you win by 30 or 40 points, the job is done. If less, questions are asked. That’s just the reality of a match like this.

When the Portuguese national football team played Scotland at Hampden last month, Cristiano Ronaldo was mobbed by young fans desperate for a selfie and an autograph.

Their rugby counterparts arrive with slightly less fanfare. There are several players who would hardly be a household name at home.

Currently number 15 in the world rankings, anything other than an emphatic win over Os Lobos – ‘The Wolves’ – would see Scotland’s Autumn Series campaign come to an end.

Townsend has opted for large-scale changes. With fourteen changes from the team that lost to South Africa last weekend, only Tom Jordan retains his place at wing-back.

It would have been a clean sheet of 15 changes had Harry Paterson not suffered an injury in training during the week.

Townsend sees this as an opportunity to build depth. It’s a chance for some of Scotland’s fringe players to come out of the shadows and take center stage.

This isn’t even Scotland’s B team. In some positions, especially the forwards, they are probably closer to their C team.

It is an opportunity for selection players to stake a claim, for young talents to raise their hands. None more so than the young back rower Freddy Douglas.

At 19, Douglas could become Scotland’s youngest player for more than 60 years if he comes off the bench.

Earlier this week, Scotland striker John Dalziel claimed Douglas is ‘already world class’.

That was a pretty wild assessment from a young man who has yet to play a senior game at professional level, but it is clear that Douglas is very highly rated.

Stafford McDowall will captain the team at center and yesterday spoke of the fearless attitude Douglas showed in training.

Scotland clearly see him as the next big thing. This will be a chance for the teenage back-rower to sink his teeth into Test rugby when he comes off the bench.

McDowall was also adamant yesterday that Scotland will not take Portugal lightly, but that was mainly diplomacy.

When we examine some of the numbers it becomes clear how much of a step forward this will be for the minnows.

Portugal have won just one of their previous twenty tests against the current Tier One nations (D1 L18).

That was a 9-6 win against Italy in 1973. Since then they have lost 15 games against Tier One teams by an average margin of 38 points.

Clearly the expectation is that Scotland will pile up the points in a similar manner. If the unthinkable happened it would be one of the darkest days in the history of Scottish rugby.

George Horne will be asked to inject some much-needed spice and pace into Scotland’s attack at scrum-half.

Incredibly, at the age of 29 and with more than 30 caps to his name, this will be the first time Horne starts a Test match at Murrayfield.

Despite being the clear number nine at domestic level in Scotland and helping Glasgow win the URC last season, Townsend still seems reluctant to put his full faith in Horne from the start.

Ali Price was bizarrely selected ahead of him for the match against Fiji a few weeks ago, while Toulon’s Ben White remains the clear first choice.

A player who excels with a fast ball and when playing on the front foot. Don’t be surprised if Horne puts in a strong performance and scores a few tries today.

The same goes for Darcy Graham, who is probably the oldest player included in Townsend’s starting XV.

If Scotland get their act together, Graham could score a raft of tries in addition to the four he scored against Fiji two weeks ago.

This will be Portugal’s first-ever Test match away from home against a Tier One nation, with Scottish Rugby hoping it can attract around 60,000 spectators.

It almost certainly won’t sell out, even if walk-up tickets are still available. Obviously, if you’re trying to sell a game like this, these are the weeks where the marketing people really make their money.

Speaking of money, the SRU’s latest annual accounts were released earlier this week and showed a loss of £11.3 million over the past year.

That number was worrying enough in itself. But the number that really jumped off the page in the annual report was the £887,000 paid to former CEO Mark Dodson.

Despite only working around eight months a year before essentially being put on garden leave before leaving in the summer, Dodson’s money was higher than the £676,000 he received the year before.

The amount paid to him reflected both his salary and his severance package. The SRU, a figure who caused costs to spiral out of control while rarely covering itself in glory during various PR disasters, is a long way from Dodson. But while it’s only natural that there should be such moral outrage over such a discredited figure who continues to flush money out of the company, this somewhat misses the point.

Dodson will only be paid what he is contractually owed. Who wouldn’t do the same in their position?

The real failure was the way he was given carte blanche to do whatever he wanted for years, while his contract was constantly renewed.

But that’s all secondary. Scotland have a game to concentrate on this afternoon. Against a Portuguese team that many considered an emerging talent in international rugby just a year ago, they will be expected to employ this style.

It won’t take away the pain or disappointment of what happened against South Africa a week ago. That was a huge missed opportunity.

But Scotland can only beat what is in front of them before a seemingly rejuvenated Wallabies side visits Murrayfield in the final Autumn Test next weekend.

That competition already seems to be the key to a successful campaign. Portugal, despite all the respect and diplomacy, should be blown away with minimal fuss.