These historic victories, on the road against England and France respectively, showed just how much Scotland has improved over the past year.

It was the first time since 1983 that Scotland had beaten England at Twickenham as they started their campaign with an 11-6 win, while the fifth win over France was their first in Paris since 1999.

Their two losses in the Guinness Six Nations fell to 14 men against future champions Wales, losing 25-24 after a superb return from the visitors to Edinburgh and a 27-24 loss to Ireland.

If Scotland had won any of those matches, they might have won the league title.

After this successful campaign, their summer tests were disappointingly canceled due to Covid-19, meaning there was an eight-month gap before their fall clash of nations with Tonga.

That didn’t put the Scots in phase, however, as they came back to a 60-14 win in front of the fans, before beating Australia the following week.

They lost to world champion South Africa before winning 29-20 against Japan, a game in which Stuart Hogg became Scotland’s all-time leading try scorer.

Guinness Six Nations

Scotland finished fourth in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, despite winning three out of five, which on the surface is not where they would have wanted to finish.

But this fourth place was only five points behind champions Wales, tied with Ireland and one point behind France, second.

The three wins over England, France and Italy have been very impressive, with both defensive endurance instigated by Steve Tandy and attacking play that can tear even the best teams apart.

The defeats were unfortunate, particularly the defeat of Wales as Zander Fagerson’s red card cost the Scots dearly ahead of a classy Louis Rees-Zammit moment that the Scots cannot be blamed.

All in all it was a clear step in the right direction, perhaps with a slight pang of heart and a sense of disappointment with the losses so close and the title so close in terms of points.

Fall Nations Series

The lack of a summer tour was something that could have derailed Scotland’s progress against the Guinness Six Nations, but on the contrary, it freed them up and allowed them to play free against Tonga in the of the opening game of the Fall Nations Series.

The explosive 60-14 victory over ‘Ikale Tahi saw Kyle Steyn cross white on four occasions, becoming the first Scotsman to do so since 1995 when Gavin Hastings crossed for four against Ivory Coast.

Six Nations Under-20 Championship dates announced

The victory against Australia showed exactly where Scotland stands, able to beat the best opponents around the world, although the loss to South Africa a week later showed it was still a long way from the product. finished.

Makazole Mapimpi’s brace inspired South Africa to a 30-15 victory which saw Scotland struggle to contain the ruthless Springboks.

A week later however, Scotland were back on their way to victory against the Brave Blossom and captain Hogg came in to score his 25th Scottish try, making him Scotland’s all-time leading try-scorer.

This victory was far from perfect in terms of performance, but it was a rebound against a Japanese team that essentially knocked them out of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, while the Hogg try was a historic moment and in itself. the icing on the cake. cake for a very promising year for Scotland.

Remarkable stars

Faces both new and old have raised their hands for Scotland throughout 2021.

Duhan van der Merwe picked up where he left off the year before, with the South African-born winger finishing the league’s top scorer with five tries.

He now has nine tries in 13 tests for Scotland and having also shown his class for the British & Irish Lions this summer, the 26-year-old has become a real weapon for Townsend’s side.

Elsewhere, Kyle Steyn marked his return for Scotland with four tries against Tonga in the Fall Nations Series while Rufus McLean’s brace in his debut also hinted at his talent.

Scotland’s most influential player during the year has to be Hamish Watson, who was named a Guinness Six Nations Championship player following his stunning performances.

Watson was an all-action player in the Scottish backline, missing just 14 minutes in five games. He scored a try and provided an assist, covered 67 times for 321 yards and made each of his 55 tackles in defense.

Hogg also deserves to be recognized for the way he has led Scotland from the front, breaking his country’s try record and being a constant performer of the full-back.

Look ahead

Overall, 2021 continued the uptrend for Scotland, who are now able to challenge any team in the world and push seriously for the Guinness Six Nations title.

The 2022 Championship is set to be the most fiercely contested in years, with England, France and Ireland all appearing to be tough to beat as Wales start for a reason.

Superb Scotland victorious against Japan

But Scotland is more than capable of a fight. This will be their first goal, to make sure they succeed in the Guinness Six Nations, the main goal being to finally turn their potential into silverware success.

In fact, an opening meeting with England in Edinburgh will be an ideal litmus test for their chances at the championship next year. The momentum for victory could be crucial.

But even if they aren’t crowned champions, Townsend will at least want his side to compete for the title before taking a look at their three-test streak in Argentina in July.

Beyond that, the Rugby World Cup is also approaching. If Scotland can continue to make progress towards this with their talented squad, then the future looks very bright.