But Murray denies the pessimism that surrounds the Scottish side is getting to the coach and claims the players are oblivious to it all.

He said: “I don’t think Matt has been affected by the gloom and doom surrounding Scottish rugby at the moment.

“Obviously he is frustrated, as we are, but he is trying to keep us upbeat because he has seen in patches the way we can play when we are confident. We just need to keep it going for 80 minutes.

“At the moment we are in our own little kind of bubble and we are trying to concentrate on beating Italy and do the best we can.”

Murray, one of the most experienced players in Williams’ side, confessed that he sometimes struggles to cope with the relentless physical and mental demands of modern-day rugby.

He said: “It is tough. When I was a young player you came in and just played your rugby, now I have got a bit more responsibility.

“It has been a relief to have a couple of days off in the last week or so because not only are you training hard, you are preparing hard.

“We are doing two or three blackboard sessions a day in different areas, lineout defence, lineout attack and so it takes a lot out of you, as well as the actual game, and so it is good to get a break.

“You have to prepare that way, changing our line-outs every game because all the teams do it. But it’s about getting that balance right and being able to switch off and maybe it’s something that I am not very good at.

“Sometimes I feel like I concentrate on rugby too much, instead of getting away for a day or getting away for an afternoon. But in the situation we are in now, it is quite difficult.”