The last time Scotland won the Six Nations was 24 years ago, in 1999. The tournament was called the Five Nations, as Italy had yet to be added. Many fans of Scotland were hopeful that this year could be their team's best chance to lift the trophy. Scotland started strong in the tournament with an impressive victory over rivals England at Twickenham. Then it continued its winning streak with a convincing win against Wales in the tournament's second round.
Unfortunately, after a great start to the tournament, Scotland suffered two defeats, putting them out of contention for winning this year's Six Nations. They now look to finish as high as possible on the table, which would be a respectable second place. Here is the rundown on Scotland's chances of winning the tournament, their history at the Six Nations, and the current squad.
Scotland odds to win
Going into this year's Six Nations, Scotland was the fourth favourite in the sports betting glossary with 6/1 odds of lifting the trophy. As the tournament progressed and Scotland proved that they could beat some of the top teams, their odds improved significantly. At one point, they were second favourites to win after consecutive victories against Wales and England. Unfortunately, Scotland suffered two defeats, so they could no longer win. At this point, there were no odds available for Scotland to win the 2023 Six Nations.
Scotland's Six Nations history
The Six Nations began back in 1883 and was given the name, The Home Nations. The tournament has run every year since then, with fans from each country hoping their team would be the country to lift the trophy. Scotland hasn't won the tournament in many years; however, there was a time when Scotland was considered one of the best teams. When the games began, Scotland took the title at the Home Nations an impressive nine times and shared the trophy twice. In addition to this, they have also won the Six Nations 5 times and shared the Five Nations title six times.
In 2000 the Five Nations became the Six Nations when Italy was added. This marked the end of Scotland's dominance in the popular rugby tournament, with 1999 being the last time the boys in blue lifted the trophy. In the past five years, Scotland hasn't had the best record at the Six Nations, with third place in 2018 and 2022 being the highest the team has finished at the tournament. However, at last year's Six Nations, Scotland showed they had what it takes to compete against the other teams, picking up wins against Italy and England, which were considered two top teams. The games against France and Ireland are Scotland's most formidable opponents, which the team struggles the most against.
Scotland Six Nations squad
Before this year's Six Nations kicked off, Scotland announced their squad of 40 players. In the squad, four players were uncapped. Ruarich McConnochie was one of these players who originally played for England. The other new additions to the squad included Cameron Henderson, Stafford McDowall, and Ben Healy. The squad as a whole was very experienced, with eleven of the players having over 50 games played for their country. This was super important in giving the less experienced players confidence in the matches as they played alongside game veterans who knew how to handle the pressure of acting as great leaders.
Injury updates
Injuries can significantly impact the quality of a squad, especially if crucial players can't play. Scotland was markedly affected by players' injuries, with Scot Cummings, Murphy Walker, Adam Hasting, and Rory Darge being left out of the team due to injuries. Luckily, Zander Fagerson and Hamish Watson were back from injury, allowing them to compete in this year's Six Nations tournament for Scotland. Another player who came back from injury to play a crucial role in Scotland's victory over England was Duhan van der Merwe, who scored one of the tries of the tournament.
Although Scotland had several fantastic performances at this year's Six Nations, defeats to Ireland and France took them out of the running for a shot at lifting the title. However, there were a lot of positives to take away from Scotland's matches against several of the other teams, most notably England and Wales. Many Scottish fans will be hoping that next year might just be the year that Scotland will lift the trophy after 24 years of no silverware.
