Scotland Six Nations 2026: Pressure is really on Gregor Townsend to deliver success

The Calcutta Cup clash with England at Murrayfield in round two of the championship will be his 100th match in charge of Scotland and it is this fixture more than any other that has supplied the high points of his eight-and-a-half-year reign.

Five wins and a draw in eight games against the Auld Enemy is a record that sets Townsend apart from his predecessors in the Scotland job and a victory over Steve Borthwick’s side on Valentine’s Day would help ease the pressure on the national coach.

There is no doubt that there is pressure. The announcement in September that his contract had been extended until after the 2027 Rugby World Cup was not greeted with universal approval. And when it emerged a few weeks later that he had a side hustle as Red Bull’s “strategic advisor and consultant on global rugby strategy”, the detractors became louder and more numerous.

Townsend needs to convince a sceptical Scottish rugby public that he is still the man for the job. If he sees out his new contract he will have been in post for more than a decade and that’s a long time in modern professional sport.

Clinching the Six Nations Championship, or even a Triple Crown, would silence the doubters, of course. Success trumps all and grumblings over the length of Townsend’s tenure would disappear.

But can he deliver? Despite their success over England, Scotland have struggled to put together a run of results in the Six Nations under his watch. They have finished fourth five times in the last six seasons and their best performances under the current coach came in 2018 and 2023 when they were third.

Given the talent available, it seems scant reward and there is a growing sense that time is running out for a generation for whom the prefix ‘golden’ has become a millstone. Townsend acknowledged as much last week when he said, “the opportunity might not be there in a year’s time or two years’ time.”

Scotland stagnating in Six Nations

The biggest concern is that progress seems to have stalled. All three of Scotland’s 2025 campaigns were disappointing. The Six Nations brought only two wins, over Italy and Wales, and three defeats. The chance of an unprecedented fifth triumph in a row over England slipped away when a last-minute conversion attempt by Finn Russell (above right) drifted wide. Fine margins.

There was another big setback on the summer Pacific tour when Scotland lost 29-14 to Fiji in a bruising encounter in Suva.

Worse was to come in the autumn internationals. A spirited comeback against New Zealand saw Scotland rack up 17 unanswered points to draw level in the second half only for the visitors’ super sub Damian McKenzie to step off the bench and score a try and a penalty in the final six minutes to clinch a 25-17 victory. It felt like a missed opportunity for a historic first win over the All Blacks.

The nadir came the following week when Scotland collapsed against Argentina. Having led 21-0, Townsend’s side conceded five tries in the final 23 minutes to lose 33-24. It prompted the rarest of things: booing at Murrayfield. Some supporters walked out before the end, others stayed to vent. Scotland had let leads slip before but this was a whole new level of ignominy. How they respond in the Six Nations could shape Townsend’s destiny.

An opening match against Italy in Rome has a hazardous feel about it, especially as Scotland lost on their last visit to the Stadio OIimpico in 2024. Then comes the Calcutta Cup at home against an improving England, followed by Wales away and a familiar foe in Steve Tandy, the former Scotland defence coach.

It’s a hectic start, with the opening three games played on three consecutive Saturdays, but the toughest tests are still to come, arguably, with Scotland hosting France on March 7 after a rest weekend and then facing Ireland in Dublin a week later in the opening match of the Super Saturday finale.

It’s hard to predict how Scotland will fare but the squad remains strong. Finn is still Finn and Ben White is a slick operator alongside him. Most heartening of all has been Glasgow Warriors’ performances this season where the likes of Sione Tuipulotu (inset left), Jack Dempsey, Kyle Steyn, George Horne and Jamie Dobie have been outstanding in their flawless European run.

On the debit side, Duhan van der Merwe has struggled, hampered by niggling injuries, and Blair Kinghorn’s form has shaded since the Lions tour. Huw Jones is only just back after a long lay-off and Grant Gilchrist has also been injured.

There is new blood in the form of Edinburgh’s exciting back-rowers Liam McConnell and Freddy Douglas and, at the other end of the age spectrum, a recall for hooker Dave Cherry, now 35 and playing in the French second tier.

If Townsend can harness the Glasgow contingent’s elan and attitude and meld it to Russell’s brilliance there is hope yet that it can be a landmark tournament for the Scots.

The Scotland breakdown

Head coach: Gregor Townsend.

Key player: Finn Russell.

One to watch: Freddy Douglas.

Record in past 5 years: 2025 - 4th, 2024 - 4th, 2023 - 3rd, 2022 - 4th, 2021 - 4th.

World ranking: 9th.