Scotland's autumn campaign will be defined by 23 minutes of pain

The national coach said it was like being “hit in the teeth” and you suspect the pain will linger.

What Townsend must hope to avoid is having the remainder of his time in charge soured by the Pumas defeat. His recent contract extension takes him to the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup but a poor Six Nations will ratchet up the pressure another notch.

Scotland, with a very different team, returned to the fray on Sunday and beat Tonga 56-0 at Murrayfield in a fractured game which began well for the home side, finished with a flourish but stagnated during a long middle period.

Hard to see what Scotland gained from Tonga match

Tonga were playing their first match since beating Canada in the Pacific Nations Cup third-place play-off in Salt Lake City in September and they brought plenty of physicality - their tackling was ferocious - but there was a bluntness about them.

The home defence stood firm but it is hard to see what Scotland would have gained from playing a side ranked 19th, 10 places below them. It felt a world away from the Murrayfield matches of recent weeks against New Zealand and Argentina.

The aftermath of the Argentina game brought criticism on a scale never previously seen during Townsend’s eight-plus years in charge. There was exasperation that such a talented group of players could not see out a match in which they had led 21-0 in the 57th minute. The way the game unravelled so alarmingly placed question marks over the squad’s mental toughness.

Townsend admitted it had been a tough week but strived to find positives from a campaign which brought big wins over the USA and Tonga but defeats in the two matches that really mattered, against New Zealand and Argentina.

“I think we all know that the period in the four games which wasn't good enough was the last 20 minutes against Argentina,” said the coach. “I'm sure you don't want analysis of every sector of our game but things that we were definitely putting in place to put some quality opposition under pressure - New Zealand and Argentina - around the contact area, around our ball carrying, around our scrum, around the maul at times. Those are really important and they're tactical rugby areas. But the area we have to be better on is finishing opportunities and getting that momentum back from oppositions quicker.”

Learning from the pain

Scotland squandered several opportunities against the All Blacks as they came from 17-0 down to draw level with a dominant second-half performance. They then faltered in the final minutes, conceding a try and a penalty to the classy Damian McKenzie to lose 25-17.

The Pumas game was something else altogether as the visitors scored five tries in the final 23 minutes in what was a record comeback for Argentina in Test rugby. The defeat was met with a chorus of boos, although many home supporters had already voted with their feet and left early.

Townsend, ever the optimist, hopes Scotland will be stronger for the experience.

“I don't think I'd say I'd enjoyed this week,” he said. “But I found this week more beneficial to the team and more real. Things that we needed to address in our game, what the players talked about in taking ownership of the game. This is going to help us improve more than if we didn't have that to deal with it.

“Having to deal with that is painful for the people who went through those 20 minutes but in an evolution of a team you need some pain to get the learnings out of it and grow. Now the challenge would be to show that we've grown next time we play a tier one team or a top 10 nation.”

Asked if the experiences of the last two weeks had changed his view of where he sees this team going, Townsend suggested the Argentina match had been a watershed moment.

“Sometimes you need that real painful experience, painful for the players, the disappointment,” he said. “We could sense the disappointment in the crowd obviously, to miss an opportunity but also not fire a shot in the last 20 minutes. That has opened up potential for growth. If it happens, then great.

“I can't predict the future. This feels different this week in terms of how we've addressed an area that we know where to get better. Now when it hits you in the teeth, when you have a loss like that, I've been really proud of how the players have come together. This can't be something driven by coaches and they've [the players] driven it this week.”

Scotland don’t play again until February 7 when they face Italy in Rome in their 2026 Six Nations opener but there are a couple of significant events taking place before then. On Wednesday, Scottish Rugby will hold its annual general meeting after which chief executive Alex Williamson is likely to be asked about Scotland’s autumn performance. Then, on December 3, the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup will take place, with Scotland in the second band of seeds for the expanded 24-team tournament.

Townsend may also use this down time to do some consultancy work with Red Bull but he stressed again that anything he does with the organisation would be in his own time. He also gave short shrift to a report suggesting he could take charge at Newcastle Red Bulls.

“I've got a contract into the World Cup and I'm obviously looking to fulfil that contract,” he said.