Gregor Townsend: There is more to come from Scotland

There is more to come from Scotland after they blew France away in the Six Nations according to head coach Gregor Townsend.

The Scots were leading the unbeaten championship leaders at Murrayfield before a red card for prop Mohamed Haouas helped them stretch away from the well-fancied visitors.

Townsend has backed his men in the face of criticism following opening defeats to Ireland and England, and he was rewarded for his faith with the 28-17 home win.

Asked if he thought his team had shown “the real Scotland” at last, Townsend said: “I think it was a performance that we have been displaying in every game.

“We have been consistent throughout this championship.

“We’ve defended well and we have been tough to play against.

“We’ve been tough to beat and we have learned and improved as a group

“I’ve been really encouraged throughout the campaign. The two weeks of training we had before the Ireland game was shown in how physical we were and how we were able to play at such a pace.

“Yeah, we didn’t win [in Dublin] and we probably left a couple of tries out there but we have been consistent throughout.

“Even in the England game I was so proud of how we came back in that second half.”

Scotland defensive record has been a source of pride, with only solitary tries conceded to Ireland and England, while Italy were shut out in a 17-0 victory in Rome.

The attack started to show the same cohesion as they players have shown in defence so far during the France victory, and prompted Townsend to share his feeling that his team still has more improvements to make ahead of their final match of the tournament, against Wales in Cardiff next Saturday.

He said: “These last two wins have shown the mentality and the confidence of the group to get out there and find a way to win.

“There is more to come. More to come from us defensively, even though we are doing that area well.

“You get confidence from getting rewards for the things you are doing and the way we are training really gives me confidence.”