SCOTLAND have hardly set the world alight in rugby's showpiece event but for Ben Hinshelwood, nothing can dull the experience.

Worcester Rugby Club's star centre is loving every minute of the World Cup in Australia and, having started Scotland's opening game against Japan, he cannot wait for Saturday to come.

Scotland take on France in the crunch Pool B clash inside the spectacular surroundings of the Telstra Stadium and, although he's not involved, Hinshelwood will relish the experience of being around the squad.

Born in Melbourne, the Sixways back, qualifies for Scotland courtesy of his father Sandy's connections. Playing for your county in the place of your birth on rugby's biggest stage was always going to be a perfect moment for Hinshelwood but even he admits, it's better than he expected.

"It's been unbelievable," he said. "The Japan match was a great experience for me, a great buzz. The game was a funny one for us. It certainly wasn't one of our best performances and because of that, I had to make a few tackles. In a perfect world, you wouldn't want to make them but luckily I did!

"The stadium was jumping, a great atmosphere and to have my parents there watching on made it even more special.

"The World Cup has a very unique atmosphere inside the stadiums so far, from what I can see. The supporters come along to enjoy themselves and seem to have a good time whatever the score. That lends itself to a wonderful atmosphere."

Despite that atmosphere, however, Scotland have come in for some heavy criticism for their opening two performances. Edging out Japan and then the USA seems hardly the best preparation for the pivotal match with France and Hinshelwood is well aware that his side will have to raise the standards on Saturday.

"It's going to be a massive game," he added. "Obviously it is going to be much more difficult than the two we have played already. We have really got to step up a gear if we are going to cause an upset. We have two massive games left and if we want to get through the pool stages then we have to beat either France on Saturday or Fiji after that. They are both massive games for us and we'll have to play well to come through them.

"We've been a bit scratchy so far in the tournament. I think, though, that most of the sides have been so far and that's because there has been a long time without playing games for many players.

"Everyone is building up now and in the next two weeks, you are going to see much better rugby as the tournament gets going.

"The stadium we play in on Saturday is just awesome. It's a massive venue and so impressive. The stadiums we've played in so far have been great and everywhere you look there seem to be Scottish people cheering us on.

"For me, it's been absolutely unbelievable. These are just great experiences for me and I'm loving every minute."

With so much enjoyment around, you could forgive him for forgetting about Worcester's fortunes in the Powergen Cup. Not a chance. "How did the boys get on?" he asked with real enthusiasm. When he heard about the 7am Sunday training, he knew, if he didn't before, that he was in the right place!