THE humiliating 51-3 defeat in 2014 has been much discussed this week, but it is far from the only painful memory Scotland have of their recent visits to Wales on Six Nations Championship duty. In a sense, the 2010 match is more traumatic, because that was a game Scotland should have won.

Certainly, John Barclay feels that way, having been absent from the team two years ago. The back-row forward was very much a part of the side six years ago, however, and opened the scoring with a try as Scotland got off to a strong start. They were still well ahead with just a few minutes to go, but somehow contrived to lose 31-24.

Of all the matches the team has lost in recent years, that one stands out as one of the sorest, and Barclay still cannot explain how they managed to be beaten from such a strong position. “We lost that game and I still don’t know how,” the former Glasgow Warriors flanker said. “That’s the most disappointing game of rugby I’ve ever been involved in.

“There are not many games that affect me - usually after a few days I’ve bounced back and moved on. But that was a disaster for us. We threw that away in the last play of the game.

“We drew with England and beat Ireland and it was a good championship to be involved in, but that match does stand out for all the wrong reasons. I haven’t even watched it. Someone put it on Twitter the other day but I couldn’t watch it.”

Scotland had two men yellow-carded during those irrational final moments, which hardly helped. Even when the home team equalised, the Scots could still have escaped with the consolation prize of a 24-24 draw if Mike Blair had sent the restart out of play after Wales had equalised with a penalty, but the message that time was up did not get on to the field. The scrum-half restarted, Wales ran the ball back, and 90 seconds later the recovery was complete.

That would have been Scotland’s first win in Cardiff in just three attempts. Instead, they are still waiting for a first victory since 2004, and they are being given little chance of ending that barren run in today’s Six Nations Championship match.

Barclay, now in his third season in Wales with the Scarlets, knows that the home team expect to win, and win well, this afternoon. He has no problem with that, and accepts that Scotland have to give the Welsh a reason to doubt themselves.

“We haven’t beaten them for a number of years, so you can probably guess what they think about us. We have to give them a reason to respect us.

“We finished bottom of the pile last year so we have to show them. Listen, they know we have good players - but they know we haven’t put it together just yet.”

Now 29, Barclay is happy living and working in Wales. “My family are really settled down there and I just like the culture and lifestyle,” he added.

“I get on well with the players and the coaches, and I’m lucky I’ve gone to a club where that’s happened. I wouldn’t have extended my contract there if I wasn’t happy.

“We love it there. It’s a great place to live.

“I have a family now and I understand I’m not in the early stages of my career so maybe I’m more philosophical about things now. I just enjoy playing rugby down there.

“There’s a huge interest in rugby in Wales. You walk down the street and everyday someone will stop and talk to you about rugby.

“I don’t even live in Llanelli [where the Scarlets are based] - I live in Osprey’s territory. But people want to come and talk to you and say hi.

“It’s different, because in Glasgow you could float about anonymously. The people are good; they’re pretty supportive. It’s such a passionate place, and they’re certainly passionate about their rugby.

“Sometimes people will say ‘You were crap at the weekend’, but you’ll quickly have a joke about it. I think they’re very similar to Scots in that respect.”

This will be Barclay’s first time playing against his Scarlets team-mates, and just his second Six Nations match since his move to the principality, the first having been last week’s defeat by England. “It was certainly very special for me,” he said of his return to the team.

“After the World Cup” - he was omitted from the final squad after being involved in the pre-tournament warm-up games - “ I didn’t think I would be selected again, so I just got my head down.

“I got on with my own business, so it was really special to come back and play for Scotland at Murrayfield. It was great to have my family there and the atmosphere was incredible. Of course, you have to balance that with the disappointment of the result.”