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With France defending their title, Ireland trying to regain the crown they won in 2023 and 2024 and England on an 11-match winning streak, Scotland are flying firmly under the radar heading into the Six Nations.
With arguably the strongest and deepest squad they have ever assembled in the professional era, the Scots have been many people’s dark horses in recent years, but not this time.
Having finished fourth in the past two campaigns, and coming off a dispiriting autumn series, not many are expecting Gregor Townsend’s side to make a serious charge at a first title since the final edition of the Five Nations back in 1999.
In the wake of a disappointing November, in which Scotland blew a golden chance for an historic first victory over the All Blacks and crumbled from 21-0 up to lose to Argentina, captain Sione Tuipulotu refused to set any targets for the Six Nations, conscious that any statements of intent could be used as a stick to beat him and his team should they fall short once again.
As Scotland’s opener in Rome on 7 February comes into sharper focus, however, the skipper wants to embrace what might be possible for a side looking to finally fulfil its potential.
“This question always lands to lifting the trophy and I don’t like going into a tournament not thinking about doing that,” said Tuipulotu, who leads Scotland into the Six Nations as captain for the first time having missed last season’s tournament through injury.
“I just don’t think it’s smart to go into a tournament not thinking about winning the trophy. So that’s where me and my men are, I think it is about lifting the trophy and to be in the first Scottish team ever to do it [in the Six Nations era].”
‘Scotland and expectation tend to be uncomfortable partners’
With the national team picking up some big one-off wins in recent years, Glasgow winning a URC title in 2024, and a sharp upturn in the number of Scots selected for the past two British and Irish Lions tours, hopes have been raised for some that maybe the long wait for a Six Nations title could be ended.
Scotland and expectation tend to be uncomfortable partners, though, and producing five big performances to put themselves into contention has proved a bridge too far for this side under Townsend.
The smart money is on French, Irish or English hands being on the trophy when all is said and done, but Tuipulotu believes it may be no bad thing for Scotland if all eyes are elsewhere when looking for potential champions.
“Those teams deserve the responsibility and probably the pressure to be the favourites of the tournament,” he said.
“[For us] I think it just means history. I want to motivate the boys with just that – you can leave your name etched in Scottish rugby history and that should be the goal, that’s why we play. It ‘s important we own that responsibility.
“That’s the big picture. The smaller picture is that it’s World Cup a year and a half away and it’s important to show a progression on what we’ve been building towards.
“So the big goal is to touch the trophy for the first time and the small goal I think is to show progression from the autumn and from the last Six Nations.”
