How have Scotland turned it around in the Six Nations? / Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN - AFP
How have Scotland turned it around in the Six Nations?
Scotland started the Six Nations with a lacklustre 18-15 loss away to Italy last month where the only thing close about the game was the final scoreline.
And yet on Saturday they ended defending champions France's quest for a Grand Slam by running in seven tries in a stunning 50-40 win at Murrayfield -- another match where the result did not do justice to the winners' dominance.
It means Scotland, now level on points with leaders France, travel to Dublin for a tournament finale against Ireland on March 14 with a chance of being crowned champions for the first time in the Six Nations era.
"I think we probably wouldn't have thought we'd be in this position after the first match," said Scotland coach Gregor Townsend after the Dark Blues' record high score against France.
AFP Sport examines some of the key factors in Scotland's remarkable resurgence:
Fast starts
In their wins over both England and France, the Scots struck early with Darcy Graham scoring their opening try against the French in just the fifth minute.
They then maintained an up-tempo game that did not allow France to settle, even though the visitors scored two first-half tries in a match where Scotland led by just five points at 19-14 come the interval.
A gloriously sunny and dry day in Edinburgh also played into Scotland's hands, with their surprising failure to adapt to a huge downpour in Rome a key factor in their loss to Italy.
Holding their nerve
Scotland fans are renowned for their loyalty so it said something about the nature of November's loss to Argentina at Murrayfield that they booed their side off the field at full-time.
The hosts were 21-0 up early in the second half and cruising to victory before the Pumas scored five tries in the final 24 minutes as they completed an ultimately decisive 33-24 win.
And after the high of beating arch-rivals England 31-20 in this Six Nations, doubts were expressed about Scotland's ability to back up that performance the next week against Wales.
Those fears looked like they were about to come true as Scotland trailed 20-5 and 23-12 before replacement hooker George Turner's try five minutes from the finish gave them the lead for the first time in a match they won 26-23.
By contrast, a stunning third-quarter display against France saw Scotland surge 47-14 ahead and meant they could withstand a rally that yielded four late tries for Les Bleus.
"Obviously the Argentine experience was a painful one," said Townsend after the France match. "The changes we had to make in the group were more about mindset and dealing with momentum swings."
Townsend, whose position had been called into question after the Rome debacle, added: "Cardiff was evidence to the players of what we believe and what they're believing."
Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu was as pleased by the way the team responded when France threatened a revival before half-time as he was by any of their well-taken tries.
"I just couldn't be prouder of, not necessarily the big scoring moments, but the way we reacted to moments," he said.
Dynamic forwards
Plenty of praise has been lavished on a Scotland back division helmed by gifted fly-half Finn Russell and featuring such expert finishers as Graham and a midfield combination of Tuipulotu and Huw Jones.
But their far less celebrated forwards have laid the foundations for recent triumphs, with a pack including fit-again No 8 Jack Dempsey unrelenting as they bossed the breakdown against France and harried the visitors into uncharacteristic errors.
"I really want to credit our pack," said Tuipulotu. "They got to the breakdown over and over and over again... They carried well, we won our set-piece."
R.Morgan--CT
