There are times where it’s easier to be Catholic than a supporter of the Scotland First XV. For the last few years, it seemed that Gregor Townsend had been reinforcing and beginning to build on the foundations laid down by his predecessors, Scott Johnson and Vern Cotter. He’s had at his disposal the most talented squad this country’s seen since winning the final Five Nations in 1999. No longer have we had to kick and defend our way to victory relying on the boots of the likes of Chris Paterson and Greig Laidlaw. We’ve been scoring tries, pushing our opponents to the brink of implosion and playing strategic mind games.

And where’s it gotten us?

Currently, 6th in the World Rankings and a 4th place finish at this year’s Six Nations.

Why, Scotland? Why do you do this to us? We support you in the bad times, we cheer you in the good times and just as it seems you are beginning to take shape, you fuck it up.

Our World Cup campaign showed that we’re not quite ready to take on the big boys on equal terms yet. Physically, we’re more than capable but it’s the mental aspects that still need work, namely developing strategies to cope with rush defences a la South Africa and getting a killer instinct together so we make the most of a moment of weakness in our opposition.

Wales (26-27)

The first half in our opening match looked like we’d developed a killer instinct. 20-0 at half time, we made the young Welsh side look rather amateur whilst we strolled on quite easily. We should have done it again in the second half and gone beyond 40 points for a comfortable try bonus win. Trouble is, we took our foot off the gas. And what happened? Wales came back, didn’t they.

In motorsport, if you’re leading by quite a margin, if you ease off the accelerator and start cruising, your opponents will catch up and start trying to pass you meaning you have to do all the work again when you should have just kept your foot hard on the right pedal and either maintain the gap or increase it. In rugby, it seems only certain teams understand this, namely the All Blacks, Springboks and Ireland. Yes, they’re totally different sports and cars aren’t racing at each other but the principle is the same.

Scotland did not keep their foot on the gas in the second half and were almost, rightfully some may argue, punished for their carelessness. The young Welsh side showed their teeth and came fighting right back because, it turns out, they have a killer instinct and were more than happy to exploit Scotland’s sloppy work. So sloppy that, in the second half, we conceded 14 penalties…IN A ROW! And right at the end, the Welsh were hammering at our try line as we scrapped and scraped our way out of a shock comeback and near defeat. Still, it was our first win in Cardiff in 27 years so that’s about the only positive to take away.

France (16-20)

France are very much a binary side. They’re either on it, in which case say goodbye to any hopes of an easy match, or they’re not, in which case say hello to an easy match.

France were not on it and Scotland should have pounced on the French and made them suffer. Except, we didn’t. We were ahead 13-10 at half-time at home when the scoreline should have read 27-10. Similarly, in the second half, we made the job hard for ourselves. As with Wales, we allowed the French to come back and start to play their game even though the game was not theirs to play. But this is what a Top 4 side can do. When it’s not their day, they’ll knuckle down and grind out an ugly win because that’s what they want and they want it more than the opposition. And ultimately, that’s what it came down to here. Scotland lacked the conviction to put France to the sword early on then pour salt on the wound in the second half. We played too gentlemanly, if anything. Rugby may be the ‘Thinking Man’s’ game but on the pitch you are supposed to be a brutal warrior with the heart of a conqueror and the mind of a tyrant. Off the pitch, you are a gentleman and a friend. If we had that mentality against the French we’d have won the game at least 20 minutes before the end and would not have had to rely on a last ditch effort to win the game which, quite unfairly in my view, was disallowed.

England (30-21)

Here it is. Our World Cup Final. Four years on the trot, we whipped the English and 2024 saw a fifth consecutive whipping. I suppose the Calcutta Cup gives a good indication of just where our head’s at. We played with composure, discipline and experience. We took a good English side that turned up to play the game and left them wanting. Perhaps that’s one of the key problems with Scotland at the moment. We love beating the English and that’s about it. Every other game in recent years has been touch and go except the England game where we’ve now established a good track record of comprehensive victories. And yet, of all the Six Nations, England are the only World Champions from the Northern Hemisphere and managed to almost beat South Africa in last year’s World Cup semi-final with a fairly lacklustre squad and a much easier path. So, how come Scotland can ramp up their efforts to consistently beat such a side? If we can do it against England, surely we should be doing to everyone else, no?

I think the key difference here is that England look to the big picture. Okay, they get beat by the Scots once a year but their big efforts go into really competing with New Zealand, South Africa, France and Ireland. Maybe if Scotland adopted a similar mentality and focused on beating everyone else rather than just England then we’d be further forward. Even after match, it was the biggest celebration of a win I’d seen all tournament. You’d think Scotland beat England in the Final of the World Cup but we just beat them for the fifth time at the Six Nations. Yes, we should cheer but to celebrate it like we’d not won against them in over a decade is not something to be proud of. I think here there is a lot of spite and hatred in the victory. The cheers were poisonous and designed to fill the English with shame as if how dare they come to Murrayfield and think they could win. It’s not spoken but the implication is there.

Italy (31-29)

Oh dear, oh dear. I really wasn’t sure what I was watching with this game. We had come so far as to start using Italy to improve our points difference. What a turnaround. It seems that no one in the coaching staff watched the England game and how close Italy came to an historic first win and perhaps they were too drunk on Tennent’s to watch the France game where Italy should have been allowed to retake their last minute penalty which would have seen them win 16-13 instead of drawing.

No one in the Scotland squad expected Italy which is why we lost. Look back to the World Cup where New Zealand utterly steamrollered their way to a 14-try win and a score of 96-17 making Italy look utterly ridiculous and helpless. New Zealand did not walk on to that pitch that night and took an Italy victory for granted. They played their game and Italy couldn’t keep up.

Unlike Scotland. We walked on to that pitch expecting a win despite the warning signs from Italy’s first two games. Only Ireland got the job done in the manner expected of a Top 4 side with a 36-0 win.

Did we take heed? No. Instead, it got scrappy. We allowed it to get scrappy. For the first 15 years or so of the Six Nations, Scotland ended up playing at Italy’s level where all 30 players are city-dwelling seagulls and the ball is a leftover kebab. This had not been the case in recent years, but it was this year. And, oh my, what a horrendous sight it was.

The ball and the players were all over the place. There was no cohesion, no fluency to the game. It was literally human pinball where tries were scored based on opportunities created from the madness and not well-worked, structured plays. It was Scotland’s to lose and we lost in stupendously embarrassing fashion. And to make matters worse, the Italian victory ended a Scottish 13-year winning streak and by the slimmest of margins. The last time there was 2 points between the sides was 2018 where Scotland won 27-29. Ans, incidentally, the last Italian win was by a near equally slim 3 point margin in 2015 where they won, at Murrayfield no less, 19-22. Have we taken a step back?

Ireland (17-13)

The final match for both Celtic nations and the narrowest Irish win all tournament having quite comfortably seen off all bar a surprisingly defiant England, Scotland really turned it up for the final match. But it just wasn’t enough. For some reason, we decided to play with the similar composure here as we did against England. It would indicate to me that we took this game, as with England, seriously. We were tight, gave away no penalties and really made Ireland work. It was the complete opposite to the Italy game. We played our game, which is similar to the Irish only the Irish are more disciplined and dedicated to their style of play and rarely allow anyone to bully them out of playing it.

I really thought this match would be the toughest to watch given the royal drubbing we’d received from, admittedly, a very good Italian side and the shock defeat Ireland received from England. I firmly believed the Irish were going to come out all guns blazing against their Celtic cousins. But they didn’t.

And why?

They didn’t need to.

Mathematically, neither England or France could have taken the title off of Ireland so Ireland had no need to come out with a furious display of rugby. Scotland, on the other hand, should have come out with a furious display to ensure second place with a try bonus win. Ireland didn’t even need to win to get the title but Scotland, whilst more composed and disciplined on the surface, I think took the time to wind down a bit once they realised which Irish side turned up. Not to say it was political, but I think it was certainly a calculated move on Ireland’s part to not risk a loss to Scotland and so toned things down to make sure they could secure four points rather than none. Still, my point stands. Scotland should have been riled up and played with fire. Had we beaten Ireland and secured five points (as big an ask that would have been since 2017 was the last time we beat Ireland), we’d have had 16 points and secured 2nd place in the tightest Six Nations for years. Yes, Ireland winning was no contest and, sadly, Wales getting the wooden spoon was no contest either, but 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th places were anyone’s guess.

More realistically, a non-try bonus victory was on the cards and we’d have secured 3rd place instead tying with France on 15 points but losing second on account of France winning the head-to-head. Still, better than the fourth we got for not really trying.

Scotland, yes, played more calmly but it still resulted in a loss. Losing, even with a bonus point, is still losing and even though it was our closest match against Ireland since 2013 where Scotland won 12-8, it was salt in the wound when you consider that Ireland didn’t need to do much to just get a win. Scotland didn’t fling everything they had at Ireland and we got what we deserved. A lacklustre finish for a side that really didn’t seem to know what it was doing.

Conclusion

This was legitimately Scotland’s best chance at a Grand Slam in a long time. So much was within our hands yet we gave it all away. Recent tournaments, you could argue mathematically that Scotland could have won if so-and-so hadn’t had that try disallowed or had that penalty gone through or had all the conversions been scored. Things like that are objective facts. They cannot be changed.

The truth of the matter this year was the Scotland allowed themselves to lose. Against Wales, they went from making the team look like nobodies to then find themselves batting the team away at the death of the game. Against France, we did not kill the game three quarters of the way through and snuff the French out completely thus not needing the rely on a TMO decision to go in our favour.

With England, all went to plan. With Italy, there was no plan and, amidst the scramble, Italy just scraped a shock defeat. Well, shocking to the Scotland team but not to anyone watching that understood what was going on.

Ireland was just a game. We didn’t really try to win and Ireland did just enough to get what they needed for a comfortable title victory. We were a soft landing. A nice wee cushion for the Irish to sit on after a long, hard but, ultimately, successful campaign.

This is not what Scotland should be. We should not be allowing other sides to dictate terms and threaten undoing all our hard work. Unfortunately, this year proved very much that even a poor Welsh side can throw their weight about and almost get what they want. This team is the most comprehensive team in a long time but the collective mindset is too cocky, arrogant and full of nonsense. This team is not serious enough about what they do on the pitch. Yes, they run around and score some pretty tries but playing champagne rugby is for charity events. It is not to be played when national pride is at stake. And, I’m sad to say, I do not think this side is playing with national pride. The jersey is just a jersey.

I would not be surprised if there were calls for Gregor Townsend to hand over his resignation. Frankly, I don’t think it would be warranted if he gave in to such demands and I doubt the SRU would accept it. His long-term strategy is starting to pay off but this crop of players, whilst undoubtedly talented, need to be reigned in more. Finn Russell in particular is a problem as he truly believes he’s a wonderkid when he’s just a talented arse. He could be a wonderkid if he spent more time honing his talent and less on being an arse. However, at 31, I think it’s too late and Gregor Townsend will likely be focusing on making sure his future replacements are moulded in the more appropriate shape. More focus on team and strategy and less on showing off. He could have been a true great a la Chris Paterson but Chris Paterson’s discipline and cool character won more games than not. Can’t say the same for Finn.

We are in the twilight of this current Scotland side. Within five years, most, if not all, will be gone and a new group will take their place. For their sake, I hope 2024, if the Six Nations is anything to go by, is just part of Gregor’s long-term plan and it required taking one step back this year. I just hope next year will see at least two steps forward.