Scotland hero's injury message to Gregor Townsend as fears mount over duo for Six Nations decider

Steyn was outstanding in a remarkable Six Nations game which saw the Scots score seven tries against the previously undefeated visitors to keep their title hopes alive going into the final weekend.

He was named player of the match for the second time in this championship, adding the award to the accolade he won against England last month. However, he suffered a deep cut to his left leg while trying in vain to stop Antoine Dupont scoring in the second half.

“Kyle Steyn just told me he’ll be fine,” said Townsend in the post-match press conference. “I hope he's right because he's in a pretty good run of form. He was amazing today again. And the best thing he did, it involved his injury: that hustle back to try to stop a French try. Whether there were or two forward passes in there, we don't know. But just that effort for your team-mates. Obviously we were well ahead on the scoreboard but that was great to see. He's got a deep cut, so let's hope it heals.”

Second-row forwards Gregor Brown and Scott Cummings were also injured and may not recover in time for the match at the Aviva.

“Gregor Brown's got a hamstring issue so I would think he wouldn't turn that round and Scott Cummings is a calf [injury],” said Townsend. “Sometimes these can be neural and what they feel is a torn calf or a torn hamstring might not be what we fear but it looks like certainly Gregor will be out and we'll see about Scott over the next few days.”

Scotland also had to replace Huw Jones in the second half, a substitution that saw Rory Darge switched to centre. Jones was feeling something in his Achilles, an injury that has troubled him in the past. The Glasgow centre underwent surgery in the summer.

“He's obviously had an Achilles injury in the past,” said Townsend. “That's why he missed November [the autumn Test series]. He was feeling it a little bit. He stayed on and then we decided to take him off.

“We obviously had to change things with Rory going to the centre. The bench did a good job as well. I think it was difficult at that period with France.”

How Scotland can win the Six Nations

The French finished strongly and secured a bonus point which means they remain top of the Six Nations table ahead of the final round. They are level on 16 points with Scotland but have a far superior points differential. Ireland are third on 14 points and could also win the title if they beat Scotland and France lose to England in Paris.

For the Scots, it’s a remarkable turnaround after they lost to Italy in Rome in their first match of the championship. They have since beaten England, Wales and France, all with a bonus point, to give themselves a chance of winning the title for the first time since 1999.

“I think we probably wouldn't have thought we'd be in this position after the first match,” said Townsend. “To get bonus points against some quality teams. England and France were probably in the top three in the world coming into this tournament. To get four and seven tries [against England and France] and get maximum points was great. We've given ourselves an opportunity.

“It's probably not all in our hands because France will play after us. We'll just make sure we target our game and do all we can to win and see what happens after.”

The Ireland v Scotland match kicks off at 2.10pm, with France v England at 8pm. It means that if Scotland win in Dublin for the first time since 2017 they will have a long wait to discover whether it is enough to clinch the championship.

It is a scenario Townsend is happy to accept and it was earned on the back of a brilliant performance against the French which saw the Scots dazzle in the Edinburgh sunshine.

“I did feel that with the weather conditions, what we were set up to do, would get opportunities,” said the coach. “The evidence was there last year when we played them in Paris, especially in that first half. Obviously at home, with momentum, you can stack moments.

“It becomes more difficult for the away team if you're piling on pressure with how you're playing. It was tremendous. I think the second half, that third quarter was another step up. To continue how we were playing, to put pressure on France as they were opening up the game even more. They obviously play an off-loading game and we felt there were errors in them.

“But when they're behind, they're going to have to force things. That was as good as that first half but probably even better because of the mental challenge of being ahead and still being relentless in how we were playing.”