Six Nations 2026: Finn Russell is ready for a ‘career peak’ as Scotland eye the title

Putting seven tries and 50 points on a French team that came to Murrayfield looking unbeatable in the Six Nations opened the tournament wide and sent shockwaves through the rugby world.

Hype and hope are bound to rise around this Scotland team as they head towards that date with destiny in Dublin, but blocking out the outside noise has been crucial in this team finally starting to fulfill the potential many have always suspected it had.

They had to do so when the flames were flying after capitulation to Argentina in November and the opening defeat to Italy in Rome a few weeks ago. The mentality remains the same even as criticism is replaced with approval after three straight wins.

“It’s new territory for us heading into the last game with a chance to win it,” Russell said.

“There’s going to be a lot of outside noise after scoring 50 points over France, but I think for us we’ve got to make sure we keep it in the loop and keep doing what we’re doing, which is building a lot of that off the Argentina game in November with that tough loss, and then Italy at the start of the tournament.

“So, keep building where we are. It’s never a perfect performance. I think as long as we can keep outside noise out of the loop and not let it get to us, that’s the main thing.”

After the missed opportunity for a first ever win over New Zealand and the devastating 21-0 collapse to the Pumas in November, and again after the monsoon misery in Rome, Gregor Townsend stood firm in front of his players, steadfast in his belief that everything would turn out well. The head coach is now getting his bonuses.

“There is definitely a lot of credit to Gregor in terms of the confidence he had in us, especially after the November and Italy losses,” Russell said.

“There was a lot of pressure on us throughout this tournament after November and then after Italy, but I think as a group it is very important that we all stick together. We supported each other, especially after the Italy game.”

“It just shows that we’re not there at all with the final product, but we’re building in the right direction. That’s three wins in a row now, which is great for us.”

“But it will be a test next weekend and it will show where we really are, as we go away to Ireland after three big wins, in terms of how we perform next weekend.

“We’re ready. We know what’s at stake now.”