Scotland's Six Nations turnaround deserves respect - now for a 'massively important' match

The Six Nations now takes a mini-break before the action resumes in March and for Scotland’s supporters the respite will be welcome after being put through the wringer in the opening three games.

Gregor Townsend’s team went from an anguished performance in the rain of Italy to a stunning victory over England. Saturday’s 26-23 win over Wales fell somewhere in between but the consequence of an emotional first three weeks is that Scotland are in for a shot at the title with two rounds left.

They will be underdogs in their remaining matches, against France at home and Ireland away, but what an opportunity. Scotland have put themselves in a position few thought they would be in when they were rinsed in Rome in round one. For that, coach and players deserve great credit.

The game against the French at Murrayfield on March 7 could be a defining afternoon for Townsend and his squad. He has a good record against Les Bleus in Edinburgh, winning four of seven matches, two in the Six Nations and two in World Cup warm-up games. But the current iteration of France is perhaps the strongest he will have faced.

They will come to Edinburgh as defending champions and in pole position to defend the title. After their win over Italy on Sunday, France have 15 points, four clear of second-placed Scotland.

It is, as Townsend noted, a match which is “massively important for our championship aspirations”.

It’s conceivable that Scotland could beat France and Ireland and still miss out on the title but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Fabien Galthie’s free-scoring side offer a stringent test of Scotland’s progress, a point not lost on Townsend. .

“They are playing some outstanding rugby,” the coach said. “So, we've got to make sure that we don't let them get 30 points on the scoreboard. But we always get really motivated for the French game. We know what type of game it's going to be. It's going to be open, the way they're playing right now.

“If you don't get your defence right then that could be a long day, but it also allows the other team to be part of that too. That's a game that we want to play. The last time we played at Murrayfield there was a special atmosphere, it really helped us. And that's what we'll be looking forward to in two weeks' time.”

Scotland have a Triple Crown to shoot for

Regardless of what happens against France, Scotland will be going for the Triple Crown in Dublin on March 14. It’s an honour they have not won since the Grand Slam year of 1990, in the days when the prize was a mythical one. A trophy has since been provided and Ireland could also have designs on it if they can overcome Wales in round four.

“We've got two games to look ahead to,” said Townsend. “Obviously the France game is massively important in terms of our championship aspirations and the Ireland game is huge as well for a number of reasons.

“One, it's Ireland and we're going to see them a few times over the next couple of years with the World Cup. Plus it’s for the Triple Crown. We've got to do all we can to be in the championship in the last round. So the best thing is obviously beating France and staying in the mix and that's what we'll be working on in the next 10 to 14 days.”

Scotland worked hard to stay in the mix in Cardiff. The hosts were the better team in the first half and their performances energised the home support. The Principality Stadium was back to its noisy best and team and fans seemed to feed off each other,

Wales were 17-5 up at the break and the lead increased to 20-5 early in the second half. By that point Townsend had already taken affirmative action, reshaping his pack with a double substitution after 35 minutes. Off came loosehead Nathan McBeth and lock Max Williamson and on came Pierre Schoeman and Josh Bayliss, with Gregor Brown moving from back to second row.

It was a ruthless decision by the coach but paid dividends. Scotland were more aggressive and the introduction of Bayliss in particular helped the visitors gain the upper hand. The Bath flanker, alongside Rory Darge and Matt Fagerson, made big contributions and Scotland’s breakdown work improved significantly. “I just felt we needed to change something,” said Townsend.

“The game did open up, with tired bodies out there. And our bench really helped. We had those chances in the second half and the players delivered.”

An equally important introduction was that of Darcy Graham in the second half. The winger replaced Duhan van der Merwe in the 55th minute and two minutes later he had equalled the latter’s all-time Scotland men’s try record.

Graham’s score - his 35th for Scotland - will live long in the memory and was down to an(other) extraordinary piece on skill and ingenuity from Finn Russell. Trailing 23-12 after Russell’s try had given the visitors some hope, Scotland had a restart after Jarrod Evans had landed a penalty for the hosts. Spotting that Wales weren’t ready, Russell drop-kicked it long to the corner. No-one in a red jersey reacted quickly enough and there was a touch of fortune as the ball bounced backwards into Graham’s arms.

The winger gobbled up the opportunity and celebrated wildly in front of the Welsh fans. Russell’s excellent conversion from out wide brought Scotland to within four points and the game was very much on. They didn’t panic in the closing stages and kicking to the corners eventually paid dividends when George Turner was able to rumble over from a lineout maul. It took until the 75th minute for Scotland to take the lead and it was one they weren’t going to relinquish.

After the horror show against Argentina in the autumn, Townsend feels Scotland have learned how to "manage momentum".

“We managed it well last week," he said. "We were ahead and never let England come back into the game, unlike Argentina. On Saturday we've had to fight really hard and stick together and find solutions. So that's progress, big progress.

“That's a hugely important game for us in our development and obviously to get a win is massive. We've got a week off now and we've got two games to look forward to for different reasons.

“There'll be a lot of things we have to improve, of course, but I think the one major thing that we needed to improve on from Argentina and even from Rome - I feel we've shown. The guys came back in Rome too. We just ran out of time and the weather didn't help. But the last two games I think we've shown a real mental strength that we can find different ways to win.”