Scotland Six Nations belief builds as Rory Darge lifts lid on dressing room battle cry

Darge played a pivotal role in then 26-23 comeback victory over Wales with his defensive tenacity, breakdown dominance and leadership coming to the fore during a match where Scotland trailed 17-5 at half-time.

Head coach Gregor Townsend also highlighted Darge's impact off the pitch, noting that he was instrumental in motivating the pack in the dressing room at half-time to find solutions and wrestle back the game.

Darge played down his own role during the break, insisting that Townsend and captain Sione Tuipulotu were the ones delivering the key messages.

"There was still 40 minutes to go and we're 12 points down," Darge reflected. "So I think there probably was a bit of a quiet belief.

"Sione said the right things. Gregor said the right things and, yeah, we got into it. And I think something that's been a bit of a theme for us is ultimately, the words at half time don't matter. The words in the meetings don't matter. It's about actions.

"I wouldn't say I was frustrated. I just wanted to emphasise that we should have belief. It's easy for me to believe because I can see the backs doing their thing and they're getting us on the front foot, I generally think that back line can really cause every team problems. And I know up front we just have to do our job better. And I think we did that.

"It's just about getting yourself in the right mindset for then going out to perform.

"You can say what you want to people at times. I think everyone's just got to have their own mindset in the right place. And everyone out there in the second half had that. I'm certainly not going to take credit for that. And it's on the individual to really get themselves in the right emotional place."

Six Nations title hopes alive

The half-time messages certainly worked as Scotland won the second half 21-6 to ensure they still maintain Six Nations title aspirations having appeared dead and buried following the defeat to Italy in Rome on matchday one. Back-to-back wins over England and Wales have moved Scotland onto 11 points from three matches, four points behind leaders France, who visit Murrayfield on Saturday ahead of the tournament finale against Ireland in Dublin seven days later.

"Massive," Darge said as he reflected on the significance of the wales result. "Also we're still in the Championship now. We're two from three. Obviously we're disappointed with the first one, but I think Sione said in the presser, if you lose two - you can't be expecting anything towards the end of the championship."

France will provide the sternest test yet for Scotland. Les Bleus have been unstoppable thus far, racking up 123 points in wins over Ireland, Wales and Italy. They have not lost at Murrayfield in the Six Nations since 2020, although Scotland did defeat them in a World Cup warm-up match in Edinburgh in 2023.

Asked whether Scotland needed to fix the issues that almost cost them in Cardiff, Darge replied: "I don't necessarily expect to fix it. It's just about growth. Since the autumn, we've talked a lot about that and we have to get better.

"We didn't start well [against Wales], but how many times…that's a massive amount of character to come back into that game and that's a big win for us.

"The Principality is not a massively happy hunting ground for us as a nation. So to come back from 20-5 down - that's massive. And that can only add to the snowball of belief going into the final two fixtures. So we just need to get better across the board."

Two wins against France and Ireland could clinch a first-ever Six Nations title - Scotland's previous success coming in the final year of the Five Nations in 1999.

A Triple Crown - the reward for beating each of the home nations - is also up for grabs for the first time in 36 years.

"I know it's a cliche, but I say this all the time - you have to take it week by week, you know," Darge added.

"You can't do anything else like we saw last week. If you look too far forward, then you don't get the performance right. So we have to look at our performance against France, and we can't look beyond that."