Scotland set to struggle in Six Nations

David Skippers

Scotland's coach Gregor Townsend before the 2019 Rugby World Cup match at the Misaki Stadium, Kobe, Japan.

Next in our set of previews ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year’s fifth place finishers, Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.

This year’s Six Nations could be a watershed tournament for Scotland and their head coach, as they aim to move on from a woeful 2019 international campaign which left them with plenty of soul searching to do. When on song, Scotland are an exciting team to watch and they have a good balance of powerful forwards and brilliant backs in their squad for this year’s tournament.

In recent years, they have not played to their full potential, however, and apart from a poor showing in last year’s Six Nations, they also had a forgetful Rugby World Cup campaign and failed to reach the global showpiece’s quarter-finals after losing their final pool match against host nation Japan.

They made a disappointing start to their campaign when they suffered a humiliating defeat to Ireland in their tournament opener. And although they beat Samoa and Russia without conceding any points, they could not build on those performances against the Brave Blossoms and exited the World Cup with their tail between their legs.

Last year: After impressing during the 2018 Six Nations – when they finished in third position – there was plenty of optimism in Scotland’s ranks ahead of their 2019 campaign. They flattered to deceive, however, as they only managed to win one of their five matches in the competition and eventually finished in fifth spot.

They kicked off their campaign in style with a 33-20 triumph over Italy at Murrayfield, although the winning margin should have been much bigger as Scotland dominated proceedings for most of that match before a late flurry from the visitors narrowed the gap. Scotland’s next game was also at home, against Ireland, but they could not get the better of the men from the Emerald Isle who notched a 22-13 win.

The Scots failed to deliver the goods in their Round Three clash against France as well with Les Bleus controlling proceedings for most of that match before winning 27-10. Townsend’s charges’ poor form continued in the next round against Wales, although they put in a much better performance before suffering an 18-11 defeat at Murrayfield. That put plenty of pressure on them ahead of their last encounter against England and although they were trailing 31-7 at half-time, they launched a stunning fightback and were leading 38-31 late in the second half before a converted George Ford try earned England a 38-38 draw.

This year: Despite losing experienced campaigners in Greig Laidlaw, John Barclay and Tommy Seymour, Scotland will head into this year’s Six Nations in a fairly confident mood and determined to improve on last year’s overall performance.

Along with England, the Scots are the only Six Nations side who have retained their head coach and although their opening match is against Ireland in Dublin, they will fancy their chances of causing an upset against their hosts whose coach, Andy Farrell, is a novice in his new role at Test level. After that, Scotland take on England at Murrayfield, a venue where Townsend’s troops were victorious when these sides last played there in 2018.

They then head to Rome to take on the tournament’s whipping boys, Italy, before finishing their campaign against France and Wales at Murrayfield and the Principality Stadium respectively.

Key players: In Stuart Hogg Scotland have one of the world’s best full-backs and the British and Irish Lion’s experience and attacking prowess will prove invaluable to his team. Hogg has also been named as the side’s captain for the tournament and it will be interesting to see how the added responsibility of leadership affects his play.

Scotland will also rely heavily on star fly-half Finn Russell whose brilliant playmaking skills will be expected to give his side much needed momentum. Russell has shown at club level for Racing 92 that he is one of the world’s best number 10s and if he can replicate his club form in the Test arena, Scotland will do well.

Another player who comes into the Six Nations in fine form is Glasgow Warriors stalwart Jonny Gray. The Exeter Chiefs-bound second-row has a high work-rate, is brilliant in the execution of his core duties and a superb defender. He will be expected to be at the forefront of his team’s forward effort.

Players to watch: A player who will be keen to impress is the man Hogg replaced as the side’s skipper, Stuart McInally. The Edinburgh hooker started the World Cup in the leadership role and as the side’s first-choice hooker but had lost his place in the run-on side by the time of that final pool match against Japan. McInally will have a battle to regain his starting berth as the man who replaced him, Fraser Brown, is a good player with an excellent skill-set and will be determined to hold on to that number two jersey.

Also keep an eye on flyer Ratu Tagive, who is one of six uncapped players in Townsend’s squad. Blessed with plenty of pace and great attacking skills, the 28-year-old is set to become the first Fijian-born player to play for Scotland in the 15-a-side code and he will be hoping to hit the ground running when he is presented with that chance.

Prospects: There will be plenty of optimism in Scotland’s ranks ahead of this year’s tournament but with just two out of their five matches to be played at Murrayfield, it’s difficult to see them challenging for the title. Don’t be surprised if they lose both those home fixtures too – against England and France – and just like 2019, their best chance of victory should be against perpetual underachievers Italy.

In saying that, Townsend’s charges should be competitive in all of their matches although it’s unlikely that they will improve on last year’s showing. They have the ability to run some of the more fancied team’s close, but will be also-rans again this year. Fifth place.

Fixtures:

Sunday, February 2 v Ireland (Aviva Stadium)
Saturday, February 8 v England (Murrayfield)
Saturday, February 22 v Italy (Stadio Olimpico)
Sunday, March 8 v France (Murrayfield)
Saturday, March 14 v Wales (Principality Stadium)

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