Zander Fagerson will be doing everything he can to put one over the All Blacks on Saturday but the Glasgow Warriors prop admits that they are setting the standards he is looking to live up to.

The 21-year-old tighthead prop saw more action than expected against Samoa last weekend after Willem Nel broke his arm during the first half and he is part of a squad that is hoping to make history at Murrayfield this weekend.

They can be the first Scotland team to beat the All Blacks and Fagerson pointed out that the Glasgow contingent have been learning how to take the Kiwis on at their own game since the arrival at Scotstoun of new coach Dave Rennie.

“We’ve got a Kiwi coach, don’t we? He’s got a standard of all front fives being able to catch and pass with both hands,” said Fagerson.

“If they can do it we can do it. It’s been a breath of fresh air having him at Glasgow, making sure we’re working on our skills and stuff.”

That has involved something of a change of outlook for those whose job has traditionally been to focus on the set-piece.

“He (Rennie) has definitely brought (an attitude that) it’s not acceptable as a front five just to scrum and maul. You’ve got to get your hands on ball,” said Fagerson.

“If you drop a ball in training you’ve got to do 20, 30 passes after training to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“I think that’s good for the club and good for the country as well. In this day and age if you can be a ball-player as well as doing the hard yards, it’s only going to be an advantage for you and for the team.”

Having previously worked at Glasgow under current Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, Fagerson reckoned that Rennie’s philosophy is complementing what the national team is looking to do.

“I think Gregor’s style as well is quite like that,” he observed.

“He likes an expansive game of rugby and he likes to get the ball through the hands and play a wide, fast-tempo game.”

That is not to say he is forgetting about traditional responsibilities, including fronting up when things get uglier and opponents are perceived to take liberties.

“I view playing for Glasgow and for Scotland as a massive privilege,” said Fagerson. “I think you build a brotherhood with the guys you play with and I take exception to someone cheap-shotting or hurting my team-mates for no reason.

“If the ref’s not going to take it into his hands, have a word with him. In the sport we play you can’t throw any punches. Not that it goes on too much, but you’ve got to let them know that it’s not acceptable.

“It’s just little things like clearing out after the ball, just knees and stuff. Referees and touchies aren’t picking up on it. It’s pretty rife. I’ve not played a team this year where there haven’t been one or two.”

He is, however, eager to test out some of the subtler skills he and his colleagues have been learning against those considered the best in the game.

“I’m looking forward to it, yeah. I’ve not come up against them before, so it’ll be a new challenge and training’s been going well,” said Fagerson.