'Beating Australia gives us a lot of belief for Six Nations'

Could this be the year Scotland’s golden generation turn hope into glory? It’s my goal to win something, but that’s also my job,’ fly-half Finn Russell tells Harry Latham-Coyle

- Harry Latham-Coyle

Finn Russell takes the question in his stride like a scrum-half's sympathetic pass. It is one, of course, that he has been tossed so many times before. For nearly a decade now, it has been raised each and every January like forced rhubarb, a perennial pre-Six Nations poser from the pundits and prognosticators.

But, Finn, I nonetheless feel obliged to ask, is this Scotland’s year? Ireland are temporarily under new leadership with Andy Farrell beginning his sabbatical. France must travel to Dublin and Twickenham. Wales are a state; England’s start demanding. Italy? There is hope of a bright Azzurri future but this feels much too soon. Why not Scotland, then? Gregor Townsend’s squad is as settled as any, the Russell-conducted backline as brilliant as ever. An occasionally maligned forward pack went toe to toe with South Africa and Australia’s behemoths in the autumn and matched them for long periods. And there is recognition that time may be running out for a golden generation to decorate their talent with significant silverware.

To put the familiar question a different way, then, would it be a shame if this group missed out on that success? “I’d say so,” Russell admits. “The goal for me the whole time has been to win a title.

“We’re not a young group now, but we’re definitely not an old group – we’ve got a good balance of experience and then some young players coming into the squad. That’s exciting for us. We’ve had a great group of players with Scotland for the last six, seven, eight years, but we’ve never quite managed to get over the line.”

It is a familiar theme in Russell’s career. It was opined in