Six Nations 2026: A must-win for Scotland as an alternative not worth considering

Fair play for Scottish rugby – not words you hear often, it’s a fact. Fair play to them because of their enthusiasm in putting players and coaches in front of the cameras and around the tables, fair play to all access and all opportunities to pick brains ahead of the Six Nations. If the tournament were decided on such matters, the Scots would be the contenders. Favorite, perhaps.

Last week we had six different players put in front of us in a ring on the same afternoon. Radio, TV, social media, newspapers and podcasts. They did so much, with a smile. but…

Everyone gets bored with the narrative that doesn’t change. The players have prepared to talk combat, knowing that only actions and not words will get the job done, starting with Roma on Saturday.

There are some great communicators in the Scottish team, but they are, in the most polite sense, tired of communicating and are desperate to start delivering. They can’t say they’ll deliver, of course, because they’ve never delivered. They think they can, but they haven’t proven it. They are all in a rugby no-go zone.

In recent weeks, in their search for truth, they have walked the line between self-belief and self-criticism. They know that, in part, they can be wonderful, and in part, they can be brutal. They can control parts of the game with their superiority and then plan to lose the same game with their mental fluctuation.

If you heard them engaging in psychoanalysis, you might be forgiven for thinking that they spent as much preparatory time for Rome in therapy as they did on the training ground. These are good players, and they feel almost pained by the frustration of not being able to play for their country as most of them do for their clubs.

From the outside, it would be understandable if you thought Scotland were looking forward to their chances this year, with Glasgow Warriors winning the United Rugby Championship and Champions Cup. There are nine players in the starting lineup against Italy and another five on the bench.

Understood, but ignorant of the way things are. Fatalism, a quarter century of non-competition, and the crushing of expectations. Hope is there – as it should be – but there is no group of supporters more realistic in this tournament than the Scots. When they hear strangers describe them as optimists, they tend to wonder what planet these people live on.

The backdrop to this Six Nations tournament is anger at coach Gregor Townsend and his inability to move the team forward. This is his ninth campaign. Under his reign, Scotland have finished fifth once, fourth on five occasions (including the past two occasions) and third twice. He has won 19 out of 40 Tests.