Inside Scotland Six Nations team meeting as Gregor Townsend backed and 'stale' question addressed

It’s a long time to be listening to the same voice but Jones insists the Scotland set-up has evolved across these nine campaigns and there is still scope for growth under the present regime.

The Glasgow Warriors player also knows the only way to show they are still behind the coach is to win matches and that starts this weekend in the Calcutta Cup. Jones and his team-mates are keen to move on from last Saturday’s dismal start to the 2026 Six Nations when they were beaten 18-15 by Italy in a Roman downpour.

It was a miserable result on a miserable day at the Stadio Olimpico and brought fresh scrutiny of Townsend’s position. The coach, who has been linked with Newcastle Red Bulls, is contracted until after next year’s Rugby World Cup and is adamant he wants to remain in charge of the national team.

‘Our game has adapted and changed’

Jones said he has the players’ backing and dismissed the suggestion that things have turned stale under Townsend after almost nine years at the helm.

“I think the environment's adapted over the years,” said Jones. “I think it's always growing. Right now I'd say no [it’s not stale]. I think it's been growing and building and changing over the years. Obviously it's largely the same guys, but I've seen growth in the team. I've seen players improve, I've seen coaches improve, and I've seen our game adapt and change and also improve. I believe in this group, personally.”

Asked how the squad could show their backing for the coach, Jones added: “I think the only way we really can do that is in the game. Other than inviting all the fans to come and watch training, which we can't do obviously, that's the only time we get to showcase what we're about, what we've trained all week.

“Last week, ironically, was a brilliant training week. We went into that game [against Italy] with real confidence in our plan and what we put out onto the training field, and it didn't show. We weren't able to do that. So the only way we can show the public, the fans, what we're about and what we're trying to do is by turning up on game day and executing everything.”

Why England is ‘perfect game’ for Scotland

Just after Scotland were washed away in Rome, England tore Wales apart at Twickenham. Steve Borthwick’s side scored seven tries in the 48-7 thrashing and will arrive in Edinburgh this week confident of retaining the Calcutta Cup. Saturday’s win was England’s 12th on the bounce.

Despite this, Jones thinks it’s the “perfect game” for Scotland as they look to atone for Italy. It’s certainly a fixture the centre has enjoyed, with Jones scoring six tries in seven matches against England, four of which were won and three lost.

“They're obviously on a big run of victories at the moment,” he said. “They've got a great squad, developed their game into almost an all-court game, where they've got their big pack where you'd expect them to be dominant in most games that they're in. But they've also got brilliant athletes and good ballplayers. So it's a tough prospect. I think this is probably the perfect game in opposition for us. You don't need any more motivation, really. Especially after a loss when everyone's hurting.

“We didn't really get to play on the weekend, so I think we all have that pent-up frustration and energy from a really frustrating game. Even if we'd won that, I think I would have come away from that being like, ‘I didn't get to do anything’. I'm really angry about that and I think this week that adds to the fuel of just wanting to go out and show what we can do because we did it in training but no-one gets to see that, so it counts for nothing.”

Jones and his celebrated midfield companions Sione Tuipulotu and Finn Russell were barely seen in a creative sense in Rome. The weather was hardly conducive to running rugby, although Italy’s centres Tommaso Menoncello and Ignacio Brex played a big part in the home side’s success.

Dejection, anger, frustration

The disappointment festered over the weekend but Jones said it was important to the emotion to one side as they pored over what went wrong.

“After the game was one of the tougher changing rooms I've been in,” he said. “We've experienced losses, but I think everyone was really dejected after that. I think that's natural after a loss. And I think the anger and the frustration probably comes later on, maybe on the Sunday. And then we come back in here [to the team’s training base at Oriam in Edinburgh].

“When you come back to review, you then have to be very sort of clinical about it and try not to let emotions get in the way. We did most of our reviews on Monday and what was good was that the conversation was really open and the meetings went on a bit longer than they usually do because everyone was talking. I think that’s a good sign because no one's hiding behind it. And everyone had their bit to say around the clips that were shown and errors and things that went wrong.

“I think we got to the bottom of them and it's horrible. What's tough for the public is that you don't get to be in those conversations. So you're left seeing the loss and then kind of stewing over it for the whole week and not getting answers because you're not in our meetings.

“Whereas for us, a part of being a professional rugby player is you have to get back to work immediately and you have to feel those emotions and park those emotions; use that as fuel but also be very objective and clinical in your review process.”