The 7 key takeaways from Scotland's autumn Tests - including Gregor Townsend landmark
Scotland ended their November campaign on a high, beating Australia 27-13 at Murrayfield. They also defeated Fiji and Portugal but lost to South Africa across the Autumn Nations Series.
With their next game being the Six Nations opener against Italy in Edinburgh on February 1, how well equipped are Gregor Townsend’s side to mount a serious title challenge? Here’s what we learned from the autumn Tests:
Sione Tuipulotu has proved himself captaincy material
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Hide AdScotland have had seven different captains in their last 15 Tests which seems like an awful lot. Gregor Townsend will say it has helped grow the leadership group, others will argue it is not treating the role with due respect. Either way, the feeling now is that Sione Tuipulotu has got the job for the long haul. The Glasgow Warriors player had a taste of it on the summer tour, co-captaining against USA and Chile alongside Rory Darge and Jamie Ritchie, respectively, and it was enough to convince Townsend that he should get the gig on a solo basis.


Tuipulotu has thrived with the extra responsibility and his performances across the autumn were excellent. He really shone against Australia on Sunday and the Scotland coach has spoken about how the centre sets the emotional tone for the team. Tuipulotu leads by example. He is a driving force in the side, he speaks with honesty and clarity and he handled the added pressure of playing against the country of his birth with a refreshingly forthright attitude.
Scotland can up their Lions quota
Joe Schmidt wouldn’t be drawn post-match on Tuipulotu’s Lions credentials but the Australia coach will know he will almost certainly be coming up against the Scotland centre next summer. Some have even earmarked Tuipulotu to captain the Lions on their 2025 tour down under. That might be a little premature but it would be a huge surprise if he were not on the plane alongside his midfield partners Finn Russell and Huw Jones. The trio have been together a while now and the way they carved open the Australia defence at Murrayfield in the second half on Sunday will have caught the eye of Andy Farrell.


Scotland’s back three of Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham and Duhan van der Merwe all impressed too as potent attacking threats but know they will need to do it again during the Six Nations. Up front, Zander Fagerson is a stick-on to go on his second Lions tour and he could be joined by Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey.
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Hide AdThere were eight Scots in the 37-man Lions squad which toured South Africa in 2021, the largest contingent in 32 years. The 2025 tour could see an even bigger representation.
Autumn form needs to translate into Six Nations success
Scotland will kick off next year’s Six Nations with back-to-back home games against Italy and Ireland and the pressure will be on immediately to improve on last season’s disappointing return of two wins from five and fourth place in the final standings.
It’s 25 years since the tournament expanded to include Italy, and Scotland have yet to finish in the top two, never mind win it.
Three victories in a season has been the high-water mark but the expectation is that this squad should be delivering more. It’s as talented a group as we’ve seen in the professional era but they’ve had little tangible reward. In the Six Nations era, the 25 titles have been shared by England (seven), Ireland (six), Wales (six) and France (six). Scotland and Italy remain on the outside looking in, and for Townsend’s side time is running out. This will be his eighth tilt at the Championship as head coach. His contract runs out after the 2026 Six Nations so he may have only two more cracks at it.
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Hide AdIreland remain the chief stumbling block - Scotland have never beaten them under Townsend but with Andy Farrell away on Lions duty this could be the chance to end their long wait and turn that autumn form into Six Nations glory.
Edinburgh contingent stood up
It hasn’t been a great start to the season for Edinburgh Rugby who have lost four of their six games and lie 10th in the 16-team United Rugby Championship. Rivals Glasgow Warriors are flying high again, up in second place, and it was reflected in Scotland’s original squad for the Autumn Nations Series which had 19 players from the Scotstoun club and 15 from Edinburgh. But the contingent from the capital more than held their own, supplying six of the starting XV in Sunday’s win over Australia (the same number as Glasgow) and there were notable performances from Jamie Ritchie, Grant Gilchrist, Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham.


Ritchie in particular stood out. It was his first start of the autumn and he relished the opportunity to show he remains a top-class Test player, winning important turnovers as Scotland won the breakdown battle. The Edinburgh flanker has been in and out of the national team since losing the captaincy but it is significant that he has started in Scotland’s three big wins of 2024, against Wales, England and Australia.
The Edinburgh coterie now need to take their form back to their club ahead of important games in Europe and the 1872 Cup.
Townsend’s landmark win proves his tactical astuteness
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Hide AdThe victory over Australia was Townsend’s 50th as head coach of Scotland and came in his 87th game in charge. It represents a win ratio of 57.5 per cent and only Ian McGeechan in his first stint in charge of the national side has enjoyed a better return as Scotland coach.
The pressure was on Townsend on Sunday in a match which ended up defining whether the autumn series was a success or failure. Scotland came through with flying colours and the coach deserves credit for the quality of the home side’s performance. Townsend got his tactics spot on and in the process got one over Joe Schmidt, a wily operator who had enjoyed plenty of success over Scotland with Ireland over the years.
The Scots outplayed the Aussies who couldn’t cope with their running threats or superior fitness. The tourists had come into the match on the back of impressive wins over England and Wales and there had been much chat about a Grand Slam tour but they were distinctly second best at Murrayfield.
Mind the gap
Before we get too carried away, it’s worth remembering that Scotland have still not been able to beat the very top sides in recent seasons. For all that they competed well against South Africa in this series, they ended up losing 32-15 at home to the world champions, conceding four tries and scoring none.
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Hide AdSouth Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France all look a cut above the teams below them in the world rankings. Scotland remain sixth, tucked in behind Argentina, and it’s an accurate reflection of their abilities.
The win over the Wallabies was a fine way to end the year and it meant that Scotland won nine of the 13 Tests they played in 2024, a new record. The caveat is that six of those wins came against so-called Tier-2 nations.
Tom Jordan and Freddy Douglas seized their opportunities


The versatile Tom Jordan qualified for Scotland on residency grounds this month and took to international rugby like a duck to water. We knew he was good but who knew how good he would be at full-back? It also emerged that Jordan would be leaving Glasgow Warriors at the end of season to join Bristol Bears. He will be a big loss at Scotstoun but it’s a chance for Adam Hastings to take control at 10.
It was also a breakthrough campaign for Freddy Douglas who, at 19, won his first cap for Scotland before he had even played a competitive match for Edinburgh. He impressed on his debut off the bench against Portugal and followed it up with a man-of-the-match performance in the A game against Chile. Hopefully, he will now get the chance to kick on at Edinburgh.
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