'Does it always have to be so dramatic, Scotland?'

Fifty minutes gone astatine Murrayfield and it was freewheelin' time. Five Scottish tries successful the bag, a 27-point pb connected the committee and Finn Russell directing his players astir the transportation with the authorization of the world's top postulation cop.

Easy. Scotland were each width and class, gait and execution. They were a joy. Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones, Darcy Graham, Tom Jordan - adjacent large Duhan van der Merwe was coming disconnected his helping and getting progressive successful the show.

An accumulation of what is champion astir this team. Devastating.

They made bits of Wales, who were susceptible to the wide crippled and who were caught retired erstwhile Scotland ran up their guts.

Their composure was truthful changeable that they gave their hosts a escaped seven-points erstwhile Ben Thomas mislaid the crippled successful the lead-up to Scotland's 4th try. They had a antheral successful the bin and each anticipation successful a skip.

But, clasp on. This feeling of certainty and Scotland beryllium arsenic good unneurotic arsenic a hornets' nest and a large stick. When you ticker Scotland done the decades that precise feeling of comfortableness successful a crippled is erstwhile you truly should commencement to consciousness uncomfortable.

Same past twelvemonth successful Cardiff erstwhile the visitors led by 27 points aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional and were hanging connected astatine the end. And aforesaid connected Saturday. It wasn't rather the smelling salts and stretchers of 2024, but it was close.

Nobody tin beryllium sure, but with Wales scoring 21 unanswered points from the 62nd infinitesimal (plus a effort for Taulupe Faletau that was disallowed) galore radical would person stake the location connected Wales winning had it gone connected overmuch longer.

In boxing parlance, Scotland were stuck connected the ropes, astir defenceless, eyes rolling successful the backmost of their caput arsenic Wales unloaded. The past doorbell saved them from imaginable mortification.

In the archetypal fractional they'd built their pb which saw them location and just play to them for that. They won, they got 5 points and present they'll determination connected to Paris to effort to halt what seems similar the inevitable - a French title.

They'll travel, of course, with each the bully wishes of their friends crossed the water. Irish fans are abruptly Scotland fans.

Generous souls that they are they'll privation Gregor Townsend and his players thing but the champion successful Paris. A spot precocious to don the tartan, perhaps, but anyway.

Saturday was Scotland successful microcosm, their excellence and their weakness. It was a time that showed again wherefore you can't spot them progressing to the presumption of contenders adjacent if you buried your look successful a vat of blessed juice.

Everything truly started to spell incorrect erstwhile Russell was taken disconnected arsenic an wounded precaution and the seat started to appear. Not capable of them marque a affirmative impact. Several of them added to the errors and the chaos.

Scotland's hairsbreadth caught occurrence erstwhile Teddy Williams drove implicit with 11 minutes left. Too easy, that. The location squad had stopped moving arsenic hard it had been.

Faletau's effort didn't basal but it near an impact. In the preamble, Blair Morgan was missed by Stafford McDowall and Kyle Rowe, past aft the amerciable hurdling, helium did George Horne. The people was correctly ruled out, but Wales were connected a roll.

That past effort showed Scotland successful their panicked state. Joe Roberts eluded Kinghorn, past slipped retired of occupation erstwhile Rowe, Jordan and Matt Fagerson came to him. It was similar helium was slathered successful butter.

A penalty, a lineout, a effort for Max Llewellyn. Murrayfield silent, isolated from the faint dependable of sobbing.

The cameras turned to Russell who shook his caput and looked similar saying thing opening with F earlier the manager chopped away.

Scotland went to sleep, helium said later. They switched off. The connection each week, helium stated, was to play for 80 minutes, but they didn't. Again.

Fair play to Russell, not conscionable for the elegance of his show but for the honesty of his assessment.

This squad has a well-developed and debilitating inclination of falling dormant successful games. They didn't people successful the past 33 minutes connected Saturday.

A fortnight agone they went an hr without scoring against England, against Ireland they didn't people for 41 minutes and past 26 minutes. Against Italy, they went 33 minutes without a point.

This is repetition behaviour from Scotland. Last play threw up akin numbers and truthful did the play before.

It didn't outgo them this time, but it remains a puzzler arsenic to wherefore this keeps happening. Are they ever going to person the propensity for napping during games?

It's wherefore we tin respect galore of the things this squad does, but it's precise hard to spot them. We tin marvel astatine their creativity, but elan unsocial is not cutting it astatine the crisp extremity of the championship.

And truthful to Paris against the mighty French. Scotland astatine their very, precise champion are unpredictable enough, and huffy enough, to marque it a scary time for Fabien Galthie.

Scotland are not a accepted team. They person players that could wounded France. They person a mindset that could chopped them unfastened and springiness them overmuch to deliberation about.

They don't person a hang-up astir the French the mode they bash against the Irish. Psychology won't beryllium a problem.

France volition surely triumph - and possibly precise comfortably - due to the fact that connected apical of the flair successful the backline they person monsters up front. Many, galore monsters.

They person 8 starters and perchance different 7 connected the bench. To hell, Fabien, spell 8-0 and beryllium done with it. Bring retired each brute, from Perpignan to Picardy.

France won a seismic triumph successful Dublin and volition consciousness invincible now. Scotland won a shaky 1 successful Edinburgh and Lord lone knows however they'll beryllium feeling.

They won, though. That's kinda the point. But does it ever person to beryllium truthful dramatic?

Podcast: 'Scotland took ft disconnected state and switched off'

08/03/25