Six Nations 2026: ‘Not the end’ for Scotland despite Ireland loss – Tuipulotu

After losing narrowly in Rome to open their campaign, Gregor Townsend’s side bounced back with victories over England, Wales and France.

Tuipulotu says Scotland have undoubtedly improved over the course of the competition, despite their failure against Ireland.

“I saw what happened behind the scenes and I am proud of the boys and how they put together this championship,” he said. “We’ve definitely made progress, there’s no doubt about that.”

Townsend was under intense pressure after the defeat to Italy in the opening match, but he also agreed with Tuipulotu’s assessment that the tournament had been positive for his team.

“The performances we put in, especially the three wins, are some of the best rugby I have ever seen us play,” he said.

“Today is a reminder and a lesson. The lesson is that we have to be better when we have opportunities. It is another match for us to know what works and what we have to rely on more, and multiply more.

“There were tactical and technical things we needed to improve, which we did in the second half and we were facing an excellent opponent, who was very good today.”

After last weekend’s exhilarating 50-40 win over France, the question was whether Scotland could reproduce such a performance in a place with so many demons.

Townsend says it’s simply not possible to play perfect rugby in every match.

“Ireland are a very good team,” he added. “They have an excellent record here against almost every team.

“If you want a perfect performance every week, you’re living in fantasy land. We played some excellent rugby but it wasn’t enough to win.”