Following the conclusion of the 2026 Six Nations, we update you on the state of the participating nations. Next up, it\u2019s Gregor Townsend\u2019s Scotland.<\/p>\n
There was hardly too much positivity emanating from the supporters heading into this championship after their implosion against Argentina in the November series. In fact, the head coach found himself under significant pressure, with a poor campaign surely making his position untenable.<\/p>\n
Calls for Townsend\u2019s<\/a> sacking then grew louder after their Round One defeat to Italy, but most people were then forced, including us<\/a>, to eat a slice of humble pie as they became title challengers, providing them with a realistic chance of winning the Six Nations<\/a> for the first time ever. However, in typical Scottish<\/a> fashion, it blew up in their face when hope was as its highest as another tournament ended with rather mixed emotions.<\/p>\n Six Nations summary<\/p>\n In many ways, it was the archetypical Scottish campaign but it just came through the unlikeliest of routes. While there was the standard Calcutta Cup triumph \u2013 something they have become accustomed to over the past few years \u2013 it came after a dreadful loss to Italy. That 18-15 reversal in the Rome monsoon increased the pressure on Townsend and at that point the head coach was on the brink.<\/p>\n With England coming to town \u2013 one of the pre-tournament favourites who had put almost 50 points on Wales a week prior \u2013 it felt an insurmountable task. As it turned out, Steve Borthwick\u2019s men weren\u2019t very good in this Six Nations, but Scotland had a lot to do with that. The tempo they played with, as well as the skills, physicality and intensity, laid the platform for the run of wins that would see them challenging France and Ireland in the standings.<\/p>\n Of course, as is the Scots\u2019 way, they followed England up by almost crashing and burning against Wales, finding themselves 20-5 in arrears after 50 minutes before Finn Russell and the bench rescued them \u2013 and Townsend \u2013 in the final half-hour. Tries from the fly-half, Darcy Graham and George Turner took them to a bonus-point success but, after that fright, few gave them a chance against table-toppers France.<\/p>\n How wrong we all were as Scotland arguably produced their best performance under Townsend to dismantle that Shaun Edwards-led French defence. It was spellbinding rugby from the hosts, who at one stage found themselves 47-14 in front with 15 minutes remaining. Les Bleus did turn on the style late on, touching down four times to rescue a losing bonus-point, but the hosts brought up a half century to claim a remarkable 50-40 success.<\/p>\n They duly went into Super Saturday with a genuine chance of lifting the title. There was just one problem: Ireland, a team that had beaten Scotland in 11 successive games going into the clash and who themselves had the opportunity of winning silverware. Townsend\u2019s outfit were gallant but the Irish were too strong and put an end to their chances. It resulted in a third place finish and another case of \u2018what if\u2019 for the Scots.<\/p>\n State of the Nation: England\u2019s \u2018growing sense of progress\u2019 helps Steve Borthwick\u2019s men \u2018edge towards top table\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Standout players<\/p>\n After the Italian abomination, there were plenty of individuals who showed their class. Leading the way was of course Finn Russell, with everything good going through the gifted fly-half. Russell had been struggling for form going into the Six Nations but it was in that England win where he refound his mojo and the playmaker never looked back.<\/p>\n The pivot\u2019s improvement no doubt helped the likes of captain Sione Tuipulotu and backline team-mate Kyle Steyn, who also had big tournaments. Tuipulotu is a genuine triple threat of run, pass or kick and that always kept defences guessing, while Steyn is the ideal modern day wing. Excellent in the air with enough pace, footwork and skill to make things happen, he proved to be one of the back three stars in the Six Nations.<\/p>\n That trio couldn\u2019t have done it without a platform, however. There were concerns around the scrum but thanks to Zander Fagerson, the front-row did just enough to stop them from folding and become a real problem the area. The main stars were in the back-row, though, as Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey were consistently brilliant for the Scots. Darge was exceptional at the breakdown, both slowing the opposition down and providing quick ball for his side, while Dempsey was a carrying machine and constantly got over the gain line.<\/p>\n Stat leaders<\/p>\n Steyn\u2019s excellence was very much shown in the statistical analysis, ranking sixth for metres made with 316, top for defenders beaten with 26 and second for metres per carry \u2013 just behind Italy\u2019s world-class centre Tommaso Menoncello.<\/p>\n His opposite wing took the try-scoring honours, however, as Darcy Graham crossed the whitewash four times in comparison to Steyn\u2019s three to move ahead of Duhan van der Merwe in Scotland\u2019s all-time list, albeit their tally was well behind Louis Bielle-Biarrey\u2019s nine.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Ben White had a fine tournament at scrum-half. His ability to inject tempo was obvious but he was also accurate with his kicking, and possession was retained 14 times from his box-kicks.<\/p>\n Up front, the standouts were Darge and George Turner with the former showing up superbly in defence. The flanker had the fourth most successful tackles with 74 \u2013 a success rate of 97.4 per cent \u2013 and had the joint most turnovers alongside Tadhg Beirne, Stuart McCloskey and Maro Itoje with eight.<\/p>\n As for Turner, he rescued the lineout after Ewan Ashman suffered a disaster in Rome. The Harlequins hooker was the only player to have 100 per cent success rate in the set-piece having thrown in 33 times, which put him fifth on the list.<\/p>\n