CLASS OF 2021 MUST DELIVER

Scots earning praise but success is true measure of greatness

THE STRONGEST Scotland team of the Six Nations era. The most complete national XV we’ve had the pleasure of watching, this side of the new millennium.

Still not convinced? That’s okay. Sport is, after all, a results business. Quality is quantifiable, progress measurable by the application of strict criteria.

Which is why tomorrow afternoon’s visit of Ireland, a fixture already vital in the context of the Championship, has taken on added importance.

Should Gregor Townsend’s men put an emphatic full stop to their five-game losing sequence against our Celtic cousins, it’ll be hard to deny the mounting evidence of the record books. A home loss, on the other hand…

In this year of odd bounces and bad breaks, of looking on the bright side and just about coping, the Scots probably should have been playing for a Triple Crown at BT Murrayfield this weekend.

Against an Ireland side desperately unlucky to have lost two of their opening three fixtures, however, they now need a win to maintain any realistic hopes of heading to Paris — on a date still TBC — with even an outside shot of challenging for the title.

That they have the quality to put themselves in contention should be obvious. As many a respected judge will testify.

Paul O’Connell, the Ireland forwards coach whose international playing career started way back in 2002, says of Townsend’s men: ‘I think it’s the best Scottish team I’ve ever gone up against, as a coach or a player.’

Take that to the bank. It might not be worth so much as a single point on the scoreboard. But it speaks to a widespread respect for the rebuilding job done following a humiliating Rugby World Cup campaign.

Townsend himself, asked yesterday if he felt that the class of 2021 boasted more than just ‘a couple of obvious star performers’ capable of winning games on their own, grinned as he admitted that it wasn’t hard to guess the identity of the players in question.

Explaining that it only made sense to look to the likes of Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell for inspiration, he pointed out: ‘The obvious guys have been playing well, too.

‘Stuart, our captain, has been in great form and I thought his game against England was the best he has played for Scotland.

‘The character he showed as well as the skill against Wales to score those two tries and to attack really well against the opposition was great to see.

‘We want these players to have big influences upon the game. I feel the balance they are bringing, with where to attack and when to attack, has been a real positive.

‘But there is much more to a game of rugby than just attack. The set-piece and especially the defence are huge areas for us to focus on and everyone contributed in defence. We have a team that seems to enjoy defending, which is a positive sign.’

Since winning the old Five Nations back in 1999, even the strongest Scotland teams have contained fatal flaws.

We’ve seen dominant packs let down by back divisions suffering prolonged bouts of white-line fever. Individual creative sparks who had to shoulder an unfair burden.

There is certainly a more even spread of talent at the moment. The pack are well-drilled and combative, while every position from No 9 through to No15 carries a threat.

Opponents have actually patrolled Russell pretty well in the opening two games, for instance.

Yet he’s still managed to influence proceedings, regularly exploiting the extra space inevitably afforded his centres and wings.

It’s also true that you can’t keep the genuine world-class talents — Hamish Watson deserves to be placed alongside Russell and Hogg on that pedestal — from making an impact.

All three will probably have to perform near their peak tomorrow, with Ireland’s status as slight favourites with the bookies reflecting the folly of reading too much into their opening three games.

A red card did for them against Wales in week one. And they probably still can’t figure out how they lost to France.

Comfortable winners over Italy last time out, the Irish are still considered a pretty big scalp by Townsend.

Asked if he thought they were better than results, and whether they still represented a benchmark for Scotland, the head coach replied: ‘Yes to both.

‘I think Ireland played really well when a man down against Wales.

‘The energy went from them at times in the second half, which is understandable, but straight after the red card they dominated possession, got ahead on the scoreboard and then brought the energy back up again at the end of the game.

‘They have been very close to winning all three of their games, so that shows the quality they possess and also shows the close nature of this competition this year.

‘They are the benchmark because they have been probably one of the best performing sides in the northern hemisphere over the past ten years.

‘They have been a challenge for us over the past five years to win against them and we haven’t done that for two or three years.

‘We know it will take a huge effort this week and a real 80-minute performance to get the win.’