Ultimate prize is Townsend target
THE days have long gone when victory over England represented a successful Six
Nations for Scotland, even if they lost every other match.
Gregor Townsend’s side want to retain the Calcutta Cup, of course, but having broken their Twickenham hoodoo 12 months ago, they have their sights set on a bigger prize.
Scotland have never won the Six Nations since its expansion in 2000. Three wins out of five in a campaign represents their high-water mark.
But with a settled squad containing eight summer Lions and a visionary in Finn Russell at stand-off, Scotland have genuine belief that they can smash the glass ceiling this season and put a new name on the trophy.
“Can we compete for the trophy? That’s why we are here,” said Townsend (below).
“We believe in this group. We go into this tournament wanting to be right there in the last week.”
The skewed nature of a six-team roundrobin means Scotland will face three games on the road this season but that is counteracted by the fact that England and France must travel to Murrayfield. England won narrowly in a tempest on their last visit two years ago.
This time around, if England fly-half Marcus Smith ends up playing opposite Russell, it will be like a private meeting of the magic circle.
Townsend said: “We’re delighted that Finn is with us but
I’m sure that England are delighted that Marcus has come
through, challenged for the No.10 jersey and played so well in November.
“They are different styles to the 10s of 15 years ago but they have a lot of shared vision and skill in the way they play the game, whether it is a passing, running game or a shorter kicking game.
“It could be a new way of playing that we see more and more 10s adopting – more of an attacking game than just a facilitating game.”
It is an enticing prospect, just like the game itself – a firecracker start to the championship.
But for captain Stuart Hogg, who will win his 87th cap for Scotland on Saturday, the Calcutta Cup is the starting point but not the end game.
“We really want to kickstart our campaign in the best possible way,” said
Hogg.