Gregor Townsend: Scotland have a lot to play for in last two Six Nations games

Gregor Townsend insists Scotland still have plenty to play for in this year’s Guinness Six Nations despite back-to-back defeats against Ireland and England killing their latest crack at championship glory.

The Scots have no realistic chance of winning the title as they head into their final two matches at home to Wales and away to France, with just a home win over Italy to their name so far.

Townsend’s team are currently fourth in the table and the head coach insisted they are motivated by the prospect of bouncing back from their frustrating 16-15 Calcutta Cup loss and trying to secure a rare top-three finish.

“Well, we’ve got two games to go,” he said on Thursday after naming his team to face Wales at Murrayfield on Saturday. “We don’t know where that’s going to leave us at the end of the competition if we did manage to get two wins, but there’s a lot to play for.

“There’s a higher-up place on the table, but also our own performances, how we worked during the week to produce a performance that we’re proud of, that makes our supporters proud, but also to earn that winning feeling. We were close at Twickenham, and that fuels the motivation to do better next game.”

Townsend accepted heading to Paris in the final match with just one win from four “wouldn’t be great” as he trained his sights on defeating a Welsh side who have lost their last 15 matches.

“We’ve just got to focus on how we get the victory, how we build on what we did well against England,” said Townsend. “And we’re going to not think of anything else outside of that.”

Scotland are bidding to make it three wins in succession over Wales for the first time in the Six Nations era, but Townsend expects the visitors to arrive in Edinburgh with renewed confidence following their spirited display in losing 27-18 at home to Ireland in Matt Sherratt’s first game in interim charge.

“I thought they were very good,” said Townsend. “You could argue that they had opportunities to win that game on the balance of play. They dominated large parts of it. They’re a quality side.

“They’ve been on a run where they’ve obviously had those defeats, but they’ve got some really good players. I actually thought they started the game very well against France, but France took their opportunities that day.

“And then against Ireland, they were excellent. I think defensively, they really filled the field well, they were hard to break down.

“They’ve got experienced players back in their team now that have played a lot of Test matches, and they’re playing with freedom. You could see that against Ireland, and I’m sure they’ll come up with that spirit of wanting to try things this weekend.”

Townsend has made just one change to the starting XV from the England game, with talismanic wing Darcy Graham replacing Kyle Rowe after recovering from the concussion he suffered against Ireland almost four weeks ago.

“Darcy trained well last week when we had the guys in that weren’t playing for the clubs at the weekend,” said the head coach.

“He’s had an enforced rest, rightly, but he looks like the same Darcy who was playing so well for us before he got the injury.

“His ability to beat players is up there with the best in the world, so he’s been a key player for us.”