Huw Jones admits Scotland are now on a rescue mission to salvage some pride in the Six Nations — insisting they will face a ‘must-win’ game with Wales in a fortnight.
The Scots are reeling from a 16-15 defeat against England at Twickenham last weekend, a result which has left their Championship in ruins.
Another bitterly disappointing campaign under Gregor Townsend, Scotland now have no chance of challenging for any silverware.
With two games left, against Wales at Murrayfield and France in Paris, Jones admits that pride is all they realistically have left to play for.
Against a Welsh side who looked much improved against Ireland last weekend, the Scots could face a potential banana skin.
Asked if that match is now a must win, Jones said: ‘Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got to bounce back from this.
Huw Jones is dejected after Scotland’s narrow Calcutta Cup loss at Twickenham
Jones scored Scotland’s second try in their 16-15 defeat to England
‘Every game is a must win. We’re gutted about the result against England. We are really proud of the performance because we scored three tries and did enough to win. It’s just disappointing.
‘But yeah, that Wales game is obviously now huge. Two games to go, and I think if we can play well, like we did at Twickenham, then we’ve got a chance of salvaging something.
‘I’m not going to lie, it is really frustrating to be talking about having to salvage something again. We’ve got a week off to regroup, and then a big two weeks after that. But yeah, it’s two losses on the bounce. It’s tough, but we can still get something out of this competition.’
Finn Russell missed all three conversions, the last of which came in the final few seconds after Duhan van der Merwe had touched down. With a chance to snatch victory right at the death, Russell pulled his conversion wide of the posts to cap what had been a poor personal display.
‘Look, Finn will be gutted,’ said Jones, who scored Scotland’s second try during a dominant first half at Twickenham. ‘We’re all gutted when we make mistakes and everyone does. He’s a confident guy and he’s got self-belief. The spotlight is always on the kicker in those moments. But he’ll be all right. He’ll bounce back.’
