Nursing a glass of the local red in his hand, Gregor Townsend cut a relaxed figure earlier this month as he reflected on his side’s Nations Championship victory over Argentina in Cordoba.
Scotland had just scored seven tries – by seven different players – to run out relatively comfortable winners against an opposition and at a venue that have both proved notoriously inhospitable in the past.
There had been in-game problems to solve and Scotland had done so both diligently and effectively to quell their hosts’ threat. It wasn’t perfect by a long shot but it was a far more accomplished performance than many had expected against a team who at that point were ranked fifth in the world.
The strength of that Scottish showing evidently came as a surprise to some of the local journalists whose reference point for this team was their horrible capitulation to the same Los Pumas at Murrayfield just eight months previously.
How could Scotland go from a side that choked so horribly that day to one capable of producing this vibrant, mature performance? The bemusement in the room was understandable. His tongue perhaps slightly loosened by the Malbec, Townsend was unusually expansive and candid by way of explanation.
‘Now looking back, we’re very grateful for that defeat,’ he revealed, partly in jest. ‘It was really painful at the time, to be in a winning position and then to disappoint your own crowd.
Scotland claimed an impressive victory away in Argentina
‘But the week after, I felt that we became a much better team. We had more honest conversations and then during the Six Nations we were more prepared for momentum swings in the game. It helped us shape who we’ve become.’
There were signs again of that improved in-game management last weekend when the Springboks twice threatened to submerge Scotland under a welter of pressure and tries only for the visitors to bounce back both times. The second comeback wasn’t enough to earn another victory on this occasion but that performance in Pretoria again demonstrated that this is a squad perhaps finally conquering its mental demons.
The next real test of this new-found capacity to compete with the best will likely come in the autumn when New Zealand return to Scotland for the second half of this inaugural Nations Championship campaign.
In the meantime, however, there is a challenge of a different type to deal with this weekend when a long and often arduous season will come to a close with the visit of Fiji to Murrayfield. The Pacific Islanders are notionally the home side due to complications around hosting their matches in Suva but this is a match in which Scotland will be expected to win and win comfortably.
Townsend has made several changes for Saturday’s Test against Fiji at Murrayfield
These scenarios have often proven to be as problematic for Townsend and his players as trying to topple the big guns but complacency will be no excuse if Scotland don’t wrap up the season by overcoming a Fijian side thrashed 73-8 by England just a week ago.
For all Townsend had insisted in Argentina that he had learned more in defeat last autumn, there will be no positives to extract here if his team doesn’t triumph with a bit to spare.
All the plaudits gained from defeating the Pumas and running the Springboks close will count for nothing were they to slip up here, especially with Nations Championship points again on the line as the inaugural running of World Rugby’s new baby reaches the halfway point.
With that in mind, there will be a test of a different kind on the line on this occasion. Changing all but one of his starting XV following a three-week road trip would seem something of a risk, given how quickly the positive mood music would alter were this new-look line-up to fail to clear the final hurdle.
A crowd that has grown beyond the 50,000 mark for a rare summer match at Murrayfield might not boo the team off the pitch as they did after that Argentina capitulation in November but it would definitely leave a poor taste in the mouth were a long season to end on something of a bum note.
Townsend, though, insists this is no gamble. His belief is that there is now sufficient depth in his squad to make wholesale changes without it leading to a drop-off in quality.
The head coach turned up his nose at the idea that this could be considered a ‘second string’ selection, offering a view that such concepts belong in the past.
That might be stretching credibility a touch – there is no way a starting XV missing Finn Russell, Ben White, Jack Dempsey and Sione Tuipulotu could be anything other than under-strength – but it does place the onus on those coming in to show they can handle that responsibility of continuing to help this squad take forward steps.
Darcy Graham will start on the wing for Scotland against Fiji at Murrayfield
In truth, it is something of a hybrid selection. At one end of the experience scale there are those making either debuts or first starts, namely Glasgow hookers Gregor Hiddleston and Seb Stephen and Edinburgh’s jackler extraordinaire, Freddy Douglas.
At the other end are the far more senior figures of Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe.
Scotland’s top two leading try-scorers have endured a rough time of it of late due to injury and losing their starting places making this a real chance to remind everyone of their pedigree.
Should the match unfold as most expect, then don’t be surprised to see either winger tack on a few more tries to their tally in this intriguing duel to finish up as the country’s best of all time.
The strength of the bench provides the safety net. Should this experimental lineup fail to fire, then Townsend can turn to Tuipulotu, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings and Pierre Schoeman to come on and save the day.
A win is non-negotiable. A team seemingly on the rise after wins over England, France and Argentina, and a strong showing against the Springboks, can’t afford to fluff their lines on the final outing of a tumultuous season.
