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With just over a couple of weeks to go until the start of the Six Nations, Gregor Townsend will name his Scotland squad on Tuesday for their latest assault on the championship.
The gloom of a dismal autumn campaign raised serious questions about his suitability to continue as head coach, despite the fact he was handed a new contract last September.
But Scottish Rugby’s colours are nailed to the Townsend mast. He continues to have the support of chief executive Alex Williamson and performance director David Nucifora.
Heading into what will be his ninth crack at the Six Nations, Townsend is fortunate to still be in a job, with his new deal running to the next World Cup in 2027.
Over these next couple of months, he needs to use this as a fresh start and demonstrate tangible evidence that he is moving this team forward.
He will take command of a squad who are in rude health overall. Certainly, in terms of the Glasgow Warriors contingent, they will head into the Six Nations sky high on confidence.
Gregor Townsend is set to name his squad for the forthcoming Six Nations Championship
He's likely to choose a large number of the Glasgow squad, with the likes of George Horne impressing in the Champions Cup this season
Things have never been this good for the Warriors. An emphatic 28-3 victory over Saracens on Sunday completed a clean sweep of four wins from four in the Champions Cup pool stage.
No Scottish team has ever achieved that feat. With home advantage all the way to the semi-finals, Franco Smith’s men are now rightly among the favourites to go all the way.
Pace, power, precision; they are playing as well as anyone in Europe right now. They are tough, battle-hardened, and resilient. Instance the stunning comeback to beat Toulouse last month.
Given that they also won the URC a couple of years ago, it is not hyperbole to state that this is the best Glasgow team in the club’s history.
There could be upwards of 20 Glasgow players named in the Scotland squad. They will carry huge momentum with them, something which Jack Dempsey is keen to harness in the Six Nations arena.
‘When you’re talking about form, and you want to capitalise on form, there’s that aspect of it,’ said the Scotland and Warriors back-rower, who was outstanding against Sarries on Sunday.
‘But it’s been said enough the last few weeks now where this group’s been together so long, we’ve been through that.
‘Remember year one under Franco, we go to the final of the Challenge Cup against Toulon, and we get our a**** whooped.
‘Then that’s a learning for us, in terms of the Europe stuff and playing against a French team with a history like that.
‘The next year we win the league, so every year we’ve kind of taken our learnings. We feel like we’re kind of galvanised around that kind of stuff in terms of the break up.
‘We now go back in the Six Nations now, and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of talk around chemistry and combinations based on how Glasgow have gone, so we’ll see.’
Dempsey was typically colourful and searingly honest when asked about how far Glasgow can go in Europe.
In terms of transferring their form to the Six Nations, he sees no reason why it can’t happen, but insists it will be up to individuals to deliver.
‘How far can we go? Well, we’ll f****** find out, won’t we,’ he continued. ‘We’ve pulled the Bulls in the last 16 and there’s obviously a rivalry there.
‘The stars are aligning. We’ve got a fortress at home and we want to defend it, so let’s see what happens.
Ollie Smith and the Warriors swept aside English giants Saracens with relative ease at the weekend, winning 28-3
‘In theory, yeah [we can harness this momentum with Scotland]. I think it comes down to individuals, really.
‘I think it’s very trendy to just look at a club team like we are. We’re on form right now.
‘Edinburgh are hit and miss. You can look at that and read into things, but Test rugby is a different sport altogether.
‘It shouldn’t be compared to club form. It shouldn’t be compared to anything like that in terms of the collective mindset. We’re playing a whole different sport here.
‘We’ve got these boys, a lot of those boys out there. I think round two against England, don’t we?
‘They’re going to have confidence based on what they’ve done the last 12 months as an English team.
‘They’re not going to be talking about: “Oh, they’ve come to Glasgow with Ben Earl, with Maro [Itoje] and all those boys”.
‘That won’t affect their confidence because it’s a different team. It’s a different sport. That’s the way I look at it.
‘We’ve spoken a lot about: “Can we take the form of Glasgow winning the league a couple of years ago?”
‘It’s a different sport, mate. It’s down to individuals now to carry their own form. And if you can’t, then you’re not good enough.’
Over these past couple of years, there’s something that seems to break down when it comes to these players carrying their club form into house Test arena with Scotland.
At Glasgow, Smith has created a culture of hard-nosed winners. Many of these players are lions in a Warriors jersey, *real* Lions on last year’s tour of Australia, but lambs under Townsend with Scotland.
We can’t just ignore this. Smith has coached a team who are built for success. They are not built for mediocrity, or to blow a 21-point lead as they did against Argentina in the autumn.
Glasgow’s continued success should be the fuel to Scotland mounting a proper challenge in this year’s Six Nations championship.
When you then throw in the likes of Finn Russell [Bath], Blair Kinghorn [Toulouse], Tom Jordan [Bristol], Jamie Ritchie [Perpignan] and Ben White [Toulon] into the mix, this is a Scotland squad laced with quality and experience.
Whilst Glasgow went roaring into the last 16 of the Champions Cup, Edinburgh squeaked through despite being hammered against Bath in their final pool game.
Under the hapless leadership of Sean Everitt, it is no surprise that Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Co invariably produce their best stuff with the national team rather than at club level.
Indeed, it will be fascinating to see what Townsend does with those two in the Six Nations. On current form, neither of them should be in the team.
Alex Craig leads the charge against Saracens... and now Townsend will be looking for the Warriors players to do the same for Scotland
They have been the first-choice wingers for pretty much the last five or six years and they are out in front in the list of Scotland’s all-time leading try scorers.
But Van der Merwe lost his place in the autumn and has showing nothing since then to suggest he will reclaim if when the championship gets under way against Italy in Rome on February 7.
Graham, too, has cut a very frustrated figure over recent months at Edinburgh. On form, Glasgow’s Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie are both ahead of them.
But whatever combination he decides on, Townsend is armed with a squad who know how to win big games. Whatever mental frailty they have shown in the past stems from his coaching and the structures he sets.
A continuation of the mediocrity served up over the past couple of years simply isn’t good enough. The path through the Six Nations can be brutal and unforgiving.
But Glasgow have shown the way. It’s now up to Townsend to harness that momentum and use it to his advantage.
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