Fans satisfied that form players have been rewarded by Scotland

Gregor Townsend has named his Scotland side to face Ireland this weekend at the Aviva Stadium and the starting XV only contains five players that started in their last outing versus Japan at the World Cup. 

Retirements and injuries in the wake of the RWC have forced Townsend’s hand when making this selection, not to mention Finn Russell’s recent misdemeanour which has seen him banned. 

With that being said, many players that will start in Dublin are being rewarded for their good form over the past few months. 

Edinburgh’s summer signing Nick Haining, who joined from Premiership outfit Bristol, is a surprising call at No8, but one that equally warrants a start which will be his first cap for Scotland. 

The 29-year-old is slightly fortuitous with injuries to Magnus Bradbury, Blade Thomson and Matt Fagerson, but there would still be a compelling case for him to start, which many Scotland fans have said. 

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The Australian-born loose forward has competed with Bill Mata for the eight shirt this season in Edinburgh, which is a good indication of where his game is at the moment as he has been able to hold the Fijian back. 

Although his age may concern some, particularly at the beginning of a new RWC cycle, Scotland supporters have highlighted that form players should play, regardless of the circumstances. 

In the backs, Huw Jones has also been praised for bouncing back after the disappointment of missing out on the RWC. The outside centre is starting to produce the kind of performances for Glasgow Warriors that he showed when he first arrived at Scotstoun. 

Jones is starting ahead of Rory Hutchinson, who is yet another player that has been spurred on after missing out on the RWC.

He is also having an impressive campaign with Northampton Saints and will have a fascinating battle with Jones to see who will start throughout the tournament and indeed the coming years. 

With a lot of disruptions leading into the Six Nations for Scotland, chiefly the Russell debacle, pressure has mounted on Townsend. But he can now hope that his players bring the form they have shown for their clubs this season to the national team. 

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