Scotland boss Andy Robinson has called on his team to use the upcoming Six Nations to finally start fulfilling their promise rather than consistently underachieving in the tournament. Over the last four Six Nations, Scotland have finished in the bottom two and haven’t lifted the trophy since 1999. The will open their tournament with a trip to Paris to face last year’s Grand Slam winners France, where they will be looking to record their first win on French soil since that 1999 success.
Last year’s tournament was a typical one for Scotland and another example of the mixture of emotions that Scottish fans go through year after year. First up the Scots put in brave performances during their narrow losses to France and Wales before looking a completely different side in a shockingly poor display against Italy in Rome. Robinson’s side then went on to finish the tournament with a draw against England and a famous away win against the Irish.
If Scotland could find any sort of consistency to their form then they could seriously pull off a shock in this year’s competition, especially as the 6 Nations odds point to a tight tournament. They showed what they are capable of during their summer tour of Argentina, recording back-to-back victories against the strong South Americans. The Scots then went on to produce one of their most famous results in November by turning over world champions South Africa 21-17, thanks mainly due to the Spartan like defensive shift put in by the team.
Scotland will need to get their tournament off to a good start and France will need to be fully focused on their opponents because if the Scots can take a lead then they are one hell of a hard side to break down.