Bingham: We owe fans a win for Dunfermline

born player said. “Obviously, there is great competition, so he has taken his opportunity and is doing well which is great for Scotland – so if he can build on that, and I can help him get even better, then great.

“There is a lot of things that happened after the World Cup, so for me it has always been about improving my position, whether that is me or the guys coming through. I’m at that stage that if I can start, or even be on the bench, or just be there – I just want to help improve that number 3 position. If I can still be competitive, I will be there and give them that nudge to make sure they are on top of their game.”

Nel is once again in Townsend’s squad for Scotland’s clash with France at Murrayfield on Sunday.

The Scots are in far better fettle than they were a couple of weeks ago having secured their first win of the tournament against Italy last weekend. However, if Nel and his compatriots are to double their winning tally this weekend, they will need to be better than they have been so far this tournament as defeating a France side who are going for the grand slam will be no easy feat.

“I think they are almost a complete team at this moment, so there is places we can take them on and we will sit down and identify where that is – but we know we need to be on top of our defensive game on Sunday,” he said of France.

“It’s on our own pitch so we would love to win. It is important to back up a win, but I think it is most important for us as a team to do on the field what we want to do, and hopefully that will bring us the win.”