Zürcher Nachrichten - Townsend says Scotland rugby fans expect too much

The Scots finished their Autumn Nations Series with a 56-0 thrashing of Tonga at Murrayfield on Sunday in a match where the outclassed visitors received four yellow cards, one of which was upgraded to a 20-minute red.

Scotland started this month's Test programme with an 85-0 hammering of another minnow in the United States.

But they blew a chance to record a first win over rugby superpower New Zealand with a 25-17 defeat.

They then somehow let slip a 21-0 lead with just over a quarter of the match remaining to lose 33-24 to Argentina -- one of the lowest points of Townsend's eight-year reign.

Scotland have dropped from fifth in the world rankings at the start of the 2023 World Cup to ninth after struggling to beat major nations over the past two years.

And the manner of their spectacular slump against the Pumas, with Scotland booed off at Murrayfield for the first time in living memory, led many to question whether Townsend should stay despite signing a contract extension in September until the end of the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

But Townsend, speaking ahead of the Scottish Rugby Union's annual general meeting on Wednesday, insisted he had "never been more convinced" during his time at the helm that the Dark Blues were on the brink of a major achievement.

"The New Zealand game was one of the best performances we've seen," he told reporters. "The 20 minutes against Argentina doesn't change what the team did the week before. Of course we want it to be perfect —- we have to be better when the opposition have their moments.

"The game the players are putting out there is a game that can take us to success, whether that's the Six Nations or beyond."

The former Scotland playmaker added: "We've got to make sure what we're talking about here. I don't know if there's an entitlement around us beating the All Blacks and Argentina —- these are top-quality teams."

Scotland begin the 2026 Six Nations away to Italy on February 7, having lost 31-29 on their last visit to Rome two years ago.

R.Schmid--NZN