Scotland's impressive summer: 5 talking points including Finn Russell alternatives and the rising star

Gregor Townsend’s side picked up 11 points from a possible 15 from their opening three rounds of the Nations Championship, including a try-scoring bonus in Pretoria where they pushed the Springboks all the way. Meanwhile, Fergus Pringle’s young Scots were in Georgia and beat Wales in the fifth place play-off final to make it five wins out of six while only losing the the All Blacks.

With the dust settled and the 2025/26 season now over, we’ve taken a look at the last few weeks and what it means for the future. Here are five talking points from an impressive summer for Scottish Rugby:

1. Nations Championship success within Scotland’s grasp

Scotland have a real shot at success in the inaugural Nations Championship, but what does that look like for Gregor Townsend’s side? Well, winning the whole thing is still achievable but would require an almighty string of results in November.

Just getting to the final would also be an incredible result and show of progress for the men’s side. Doing that would likely mean they have to win all three of their Autumn Test matches at Murrayfield - including beating New Zealand, something they have never done.

Even if they did manage that, they would also need France to drop points and ensure they picked up enough bonus points to prevent Ireland overtaking them. None of that is impossible, or entirely unlikely, but it’s a stretch.

A far more realistic goal would be hanging on to second place in the Northern Hemisphere table and qualifying for the third place play-off during Finals Weekend at Twickenham. There, they would be likely to get a second crack at the All Blacks or the Springboks and another chance at a famous result.

2. Clear message about tactics and style proving popular with players

Through the many post and pre-match interviews the Scotland players did throughout the summer, there was one theme that kept cropping up. Some tough conversations were had after last November’s defeat to Argentina at Murrayfield and since then they have resolved to live and die by the sword that is their fast paced, attacking brand of rugby.

Matches against Ireland and South Africa in particular, two teams they have not been able to beat for a considerable time now, have raised the questions about if they should try and adapt to their opponents more as their game plans doesn’t “match up” in those fixtures. To be fair, they have tried that as well to very much the same outcome.

So the choice is clear, they are Scotland and this is their identity, they will play to their own strengths and back themselves against anyone. If nothing else, we’re guaranteed entertainment especially with Finn Russell pulling the strings at fly-half.

3. Life without Finn Russell on the horizon - but what does that look like?

Speaking of the Bath stand-off, who is in line to become a Scotland centurion next year, we got a glimpse of life without him as the 33-year-old played in just one of the three Summer Tests. There has certainty been no public declarations from the former Glasgow Warriors man about when he will call time on his international career and we may very well have him for some time yet.

With a World Cup on the horizon though it’s hard to shake the feeling that there could be a very natural place for the Lionel Messi of rugby to bring the curtain down. Again, he might not, but the prudent thing for Townsend to do is start experimenting.

He had great success in Argentina with Tom Jordan and Fergus Burke both impressing while the latter grew into the game against Fiji and started pulling the strings like a Test level veteran as the game went on. Of course, neither are Finn Russell, but nobody is and we can look forward to seeing what the future holds with a reasonable degree of comfort under those two.

Long term, there’s also a young man leading the charge with the under 20s who big things are expected of. We’re a good few years away from that but the signs are promising.

4. Under 20s equal best ever Junior World Championship finish as future starting to look bright for Scotland

Fergus Pringle’s side had an excellent Junior World Championship campaign and equalled their best ever finish in the competition by coming fifth place. They were guided at fly-half by Jake Dalziel, the 17-year-old son of men’s team forwards coach John who is already vice captain of the young Scots despite not being old enough to buy a pint.

The Melrose native, who has signed with Newcastle Red Bulls, showed composure well beyond his years during the tournament and an incredible overall level of quality and ability. If he keeps on track and stays injury free then he’s in for a bright international future.

In the slightly nearer future there are a few more of the youngsters who could very well form the backbone of the senior side in the year’s to come. Edinburgh prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty looks set for a breakthrough season with the capital club.

He’s a big unit for a 20-year-old and already doesn’t look too far off the level to step up with the senior team, with Townsend saying he did consider calling him up this summer. He’s certainly ready for regular minutes in the URC so let’s see what the start of the new season holds.

Then there’s the under 20s skipper Joe Roberts who will face competition for minutes at hooker with Glasgow Warriors before he gets near the Scotland senior team. He was excellent across the competition in Georgia this summer and certainly has all the tools to move up the levels.

Those are just a few of the next generation who are starting to make a name for themselves in Scotland after the Junior World Championships. There are plenty more with the potential to really kick on and it’s going to be fascinating to see how their careers unfold.

5. Rory Hutchinson and Kyle Rowe emerge as potential Scotland starters

Finally, we couldn’t wrap up a review of the summer without mentioning two stand out players from the series that have been on the periphery for some time. Rory Hutchinson was excellent against Argentina and put in an equally strong showing in South Africa and may very well have done enough to establish himself as Scotland’s first choice at outside centre.

Huw Jones missed out on a place in the squad and will need to hit the ground running at Toulon to make a case for retaining his position in the national team. He’ll certainly still be in the squads if available but the dynamic of having two playmakers in Russell and Hutchinson either side of skipper Sione Tuipulotu’s ball carrying threat really plays to Scotland’s strengths and helps bring the wealth of talent they have in the wide areas on to the ball.

In terms of those wide areas as well as at full back, the strength in depth available to Townsend has never been greater. The Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn combinations at 11, 14 and 15 was nailed on for some point but both Edinburgh wingers now appear to be firmly down the pecking order behind Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie.

The you have Kyle Rowe who, like Hutchinson, was excellent in the games against Los Pumas and the Springboks. He’s equally comfortable out wide as he is at 15 but it’s hard to say if he has done enough to displace Kinghorn at full back who was rested this summer after a Top 14 winning season with Toulouse.

Kinghorn can also play on the wing so there are so many options for Townsend to consider when picking his back three going forward. Other than Kyle Steyn, who is probably one of the first names on the team sheet, the other two positions are very much up for grabs.

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