State of the Nation: Gregor Townsend’s ‘competitive’ Scotland continue on upward trajectory as Sione Tuipulotu shines in leadership role
Scotland skipper Sione Tuipulotu and head coach Gregor Townsend.
Following the conclusion of their 2024 Autumn Nations Series, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it’s Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.
After undertaking a successful mid-year tour of the Americas, in which they won all four their Tests – against Canada, the United States, Chile and Uruguay – with a squad which had numerous inexperienced players in their ranks, Townsend’s troops were in a confident mood ahead of their Autumn Nations Series campaign.
The return of stalwarts like Darcy Graham, who missed the July Tests due to injury, Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn, Ben White, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist and Jack Dempsey, who were all rested, boosted Scotland’s hopes ahead of their end-of-year internationals and the aforementioned septet certainly made their presence felt during the campaign.
Scotland gave a good account of themselves in all their Autumn Nations Series Tests and although they were not victorious in every encounter, they were competitive throughout and Townsend and his players can be proud of their efforts as they eventually won three out of four matches.
Autumn Nations Series summary
The Scots got their campaign off to a fantastic start as they delivered an impressive performance in their Autumn Nations Series opener against Fiji at a packed Murrayfield.
Although they were not at full strength, they still fielded a competitive side and in the end they had too much firepower for their opponents as they cruised to an emphatic 57-17 triumph, with Graham celebrating his return to Test action, after a lengthy injury lay-off, by crossing for four tries.
That result boosted Scotland’s confidence ahead of their next encounter against the world champions, South Africa. Facing the current Springboks side is arguably the toughest assignment in the game today and although they suffered a 32-15 defeat, and were outscored by four tries to none, the end result was not a fair reflection of the match as Townsend’s charges held their own for long periods before the Boks sealed their win with a strong finish.
Their next fixture was against Portugal and once again Townsend opted to rest his first choice players – after a bruising physical battle against the Boks – and their replacements stepped up once again to deliver the goods as Scotland got the better of Os Lobos as they returned to the victory trail courtesy of a 59-21 triumph.
As the scoreline suggests, this was another impressive showing from the Scots, who outscored their visitors by nine tries to three and that result set them up nicely for their final match of the year, against Australia.
After clinching impressive victories over England and Wales, the Wallabies came into their clash against the Scots at Murrayfield in a confident mood as they were hoping to secure their first Grand Slam in the United Kingdom since 1984.
It wasn’t to be, however, as Scotland held the upper hand in most departments and with Russell pulling the strings in the backline, the home side had an edge throughout which helped them to seal a deserved 27-13 victory in the end.
That result meant Scotland finished the year on a high and Townsend will be happy with that return ahead of their upcoming Six Nations campaign, which kicks off against Italy at Murrayfield early in February.
Standout players
As usual, a large part of Scotland’s success was down to the brilliance of their star fly-half Finn Russell, who looked solid in the defeat to the Springboks while delivering a brilliant performance in their victory over the Wallabies. Russell kept defenders on their toes with his excellent game management while he also caught the eye with his accurate goal-kicking that kept the scoreboard ticking in the two matches which he appeared in, against South Africa and Australia.
With the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia looming on the horizon, several of Scotland’s players must have caught the attention of Andy Farrell, who has been appointed as the famous touring team’s head coach. Alongside Russell, the Huwipulotu midfield combination of new captain Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones wreaked havoc on attack while it was a similar story for star wingers Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham, who also produced some excellent performances, while first choice full-back Blair Kinghorn was not far behind.
Amongst the forwards, there have also been outstanding performances from the likes of Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist and Rory Darge at various stages of the Autumn Nations Series while Jamie Ritchie also had some good moments.
Success story
Townsend’s decision to appoint Tuipulotu as the team’s new skipper was a surprising one but that call has proven to be a masterstroke as the Australian-born centre has not been weighed down by the extra burden of captaincy.
Despite his leadership responsibilities, the 27-year-old continued with his impressive form which was evident during Scotland’s Six Nations campaign and their mid-year internationals.
😤 Sione Tuipulotu was always going to be hard to stop from there!pic.twitter.com/LKzGcNpqjO
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) November 27, 2024
Tuipulotu is no stranger to captaincy as he has previously skippered Glasgow Warriors at club level and is the type of player who leads by example. That was certainly the case in Scotland’s final Autumn Nations Series Test against the Wallabies – a match which he was highly motivated for and he celebrated his side’s win with a barnstorming try.
Apart from that, the burly inside centre also impressed with his decision making and calm demeanour when under pressure and if he continues in that vein he should be Scotland’s captain for several years to come.
Main regret
While the Scots will be happy with their overall performance in their four matches, they will be kicking themselves for the way they capitulated during the latter stages of their clash with the Springboks at Murrayfield.
The contest was evenly poised as it entered its final quarter with the world champions holding a slender 19-12 lead. Scotland were camped deep inside Springboks territory when Makazole Mapimpi was yellow carded for a professional foul on defence just before the hour-mark.
Shortly afterwards, Russell slotted a penalty which reduced the deficit to four points and with the Scots having numerical advantage, the game was theirs for the taking.
But despite that, it was the Boks who scored next – courtesy of a penalty from Handre Pollard – and with their seven-point lead restored the visitors seemed rejuvenated.
Scotland failed to add to their points tally and Mapimpi soon returned to the fray. With the Boks back to their full compliment of players, they took control of proceedings and added another penalty before Jasper Wiese crossed for a try in the game’s dying moments to seal a 32-15 triumph for the world champions.
Head coach Townsend and his charges were left to lament what could have been as they delivered a competitive display for most of that match before losing their way towards the end and they still haven’t beaten South Africa since 2010.
Results
Scotland v Fiji (Scotland won 57-17)
Scotland v South Africa (South Africa won 32-15)
Scotland v Portugal (Scotland won 59-21)
Scotland v Australia (Scotland won 29-13)
