Six Nations 2026: ‘Not the end’ for Scotland despite Ireland loss – Tuipulotu

After a narrow loss in Rome to open their campaign, Gregor Townsend’s side bounced back with victories against England, Wales and France.

Tuipulotu says Scotland have unquestionably improved over the course of the competition, despite falling short against Ireland.

“I’ve seen what’s gone in behind the scenes and I’m proud of the boys, how they rallied this championship,” he said. “We’ve definitely made progress, there’s no doubt about that.”

Townsend came under heavy pressure after the defeat against Italy in their opener, but he too agreed with Tuipulotu’s assessment that it has been a positive tournament for his side.

“The performances we’ve delivered, especially the three victories, is some of the best rugby I’ve seen us play,” he said.

“Today it’s a reminder and a lesson. The lesson is that we have to be better when we do have opportunities. Another game for us to know what works and what we have to lean into more, double down on more.

“There were tactical and technical things we needed to improve on, which we did in the second half and we were going up against an excellent opponent, who were very good today.”

After last weekend’s exhilarating 50-40 victory over France, the question was whether Scotland could recreate such a performance at a venue with so many demons.

Townsend says it simply isn’t possible to play perfect rugby in every game.

“Ireland are a very good team,” he said. “They have an excellent record here against pretty much every team.

“If you want a perfect performance every week, you’re living in fantasy land. We played some excellent rugby but it wasn’t enough to win.”