What we learned from Scotland's Six Nations so far

BBC News

06-03-2025

A glance at the Six Nations table is all that is needed to realise Scotland's hopes of the title are all but done after three matches. Hopes were high for Gregor Townsend's side after a bright Autumn Nations Series, but injuries to several key players, especially talismanic captain Sione Tuipulotu, dampened expectations.It turns out there was good reason to be cautious. Scotland proved too strong for Italy,but were then flattened by an Ireland side who did not need to get into top gear at Murrayfield to sweep aside the home side.Squandered chances then meant the Calcutta Cup was finally returned to English hands last time out.When you look beyond the cold hard facts on the scoreboard, though, what else can we glean from Scotland's three outings so far?
Squandered chances & a lack of kicking from hand
The obvious place to start is where Scotland left off. They were the better and more fluent side for long spells at Allianz Stadium yet lost by a point.They had 58% possession and 59% territory, carried for 462m more than England and made nine line breaks to the opposition's two.The problem was that in 10 entries to England's 22 they came away with no points. Attention focused on Finn Russell's three missed conversions, but had Scotland made more of their prime field position - or even taken the pragmatic option of kicking a penalty or drop-goal - they would have extended their stranglehold over England.In addition to costly missed conversions, Scotland's kicking from hand has also been questioned.The Scots have averaged 8.7 passes for every kick, considerably higher than every other side in the tournament. England have made only three passes for every kick.They have kicked 69 times in total for an average distance per match of 660.4m. Every other side's average is above 840m.Scotland clearly feel they are better served with ball in hand and that has helped star backs such as full-back Blair Kinghorn carry more (58) and for more metres (500.3) than any player in the competition.
Jones and Van der Merwe look likely Lions
Before the championship, several members of Scotland's talented backline would have fancied their chances of making this summer's British and Irish Lions tour of Australia.Russell, Tuipulotu - who faces a race against time to make the trip - Kinghorn and Darcy Graham will surely all be in the discussion for Andy Farrell's squad, while in-form Ben White and the versatile Tom Jordan will be in with a chance.The two that appear to have nailed down their spots are Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe.Jones' hat-trick against Italy demonstrated his innate try-scoring ability and he has also vastly improved his defence. Only France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey has more tries in this year's championship.Van der Merwe's attributes are obvious. He possesses pace, power and - like Jones - is a try-scoring machine.The South Africa-born wing has made five line breaks and carried for 318.2m so far, with 140m of those against his favourite opposition, England.
Darge to fore, but lack of grunt an issue
When Tuipulotu was ruled out of the tournament with a pectoral muscle injury, head coach Townsend selected Russell and Rory Darge to share leadership duties.Russell is the team's superstar, the supremely talented fly-half who produces moment of magic. He is a charismatic figure who plays the game with rare dexterity and flair.His co-captain is the opposite. He is a reserved talker and far from flamboyant, but he is developing into a world-class flanker who leads with his actions.The Glasgow man has hit 112 attacking rucks in the three games, the most of any player in the championship. He has also made 27 clean-outs and 38 tackles, the most on both counts of any Scotland player.He is another firmly in contention for a Lions place. There were fears heading into the tournament over Scotland's lack of size up front.Dylan Richardson, Scott Cummings, Josh Bayliss, Max Williamson and Andy Onyeama-Christie have all been absent through injury and Scotland just do not have the depth to replace those big men with other big men.The brawn of Cummings, Williamson and Onyeama-Christie - who was superb last season when Scotland's pack went toe-to-toe with Ireland - in particular has been sorely missed.The relatively modest performances so far of the normally abrasive Matt Fagerson have not helped.Scotland (49%) and their next opponents, Wales (48%), are the only two sides to have a gain-line success rate below 50% across the opening three rounds, while Townsend's side also have the lowest dominant carry rate (23%).Against England, Scotland made just one dominant tackle in 80 minutes. While Scotland had plenty of ball, it was not the sort of super-quick variety that backs thrive on and fed into the costly lack of incision.