Six Nations 2026: ‘Gregor Townsend on the ropes as Scotland head coach after romp in swamp’
In many games for Townsend’s team, there is uncertainty about when the damage will be done (the beginning or the end), but there is almost certainty that it will actually be done at some point. This is the rhythm of life under Townsend.
In Rome, everything was in the beginning. There were rumors in the Scotland camp that they needed to perform better going into the opposition’s 22. There were good reasons for this conversation.
In last season’s Six Nations, they finished second out of six nations for visits to all 22 of their opponents, and sixth out of six for points earned from those visits. As they say, extravagance and mental fragility were a studied subject.
A few minutes before the start of the game, Scotland took part in Italy’s offensive line number 22. Now is the time for action, not words. Clinical rugby, remember. Lessons learned. To go forward.
Their artillery was stolen from the front and Italy fled. This was the beginning of a completely unrelated disaster, especially for Ewan Ashman and his successor George Turner.
Conditions? Yes, it sucks, but Scotland’s overall error count was higher than Italy’s.
Sometimes it turned into a nasty mess when shots were stolen or just thrown from behind and there was seemingly no communication.
You couldn’t have predicted Scotland’s defeat this early, but you understand the triggers and the signs for this team are not encouraging.
Especially since Italy scored within a few minutes. Winning the mood, as they often do, they showed the kind of precision that Scotland only speaks of. Ignacio Brex attacked Louis Lynagh and Italy struck the first blow.
Being difficult to score was another of the non-negotiables the Scotland boys talked about. It’s already in smoke.
Scotland soon had another attacking line in Italy’s 22. It was stolen again. It had been played for a dozen minutes and now you could actually hear the music from Jaws ringing in your ears.
For a while it looked like the conditions were affecting just one team. Italy were blown away once again, Lynagh beating the targeted Jamie Dobie and the scoring was opened.
Michele Lamaro, the totem of the back row, passed the pass to Tommaso Menoncello and the 5-point difference became 12. A dozen points were much more valuable in such weather.
Chasing in the rain will make you panic, force you to push through things, and drain what’s left of your faith.
To Scotland’s credit (with little to do) they scored through Jack Dempsey and later the ebullient George Horne.
Paolo Garbisi’s boot and his team’s incredibly strong will kept the Scots at bay.
That and the mountains of errors that visitors constantly build. This was a dogfight, and Italy’s dogs were a little more menacing.
