Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu believes an emphatic Calcutta Cup win against England can serve as a turning point in the fortunes of the national team.
But the skipper admits that Scotland need to back it up against Wales next weekend in Cardiff if they are to end their inconsistency.
Tuipulotu led the Scots to a stunning triumph and lifted the Calcutta Cup for the first time as captain after a dominant display at Murrayfield.
But all attention will now turn to Wales next week, where a victory would then tee-up the chance of Scotland still contending to win the championship in the final two matches.
‘I’m really proud of the group,’ said Tuipulotu. ‘I feared what the Italy game last week would do to us as a group a little bit directly after it. I can’t remember hurting like that after a game.
‘I am so proud of the group. The way we picked ourselves up after that game last week, we should take a huge amount of belief from that.
Sione Tuipulotu lifts the Calcutta Cup after Scotland’s 31-20 win over England
Jamie Ritchie touches down for Scotland’s second try against England
‘I feel like a lot of our success in this fixture has come because we take it really seriously, what it means to our supporters and the country.
‘We took a lot of criticism after last week, but that’s just noise. That’s what I love about rugby – that we have to rise to the occasion. We didn’t have a choice.
‘We’ve been near the lowest of lows. And I take the last week as a low moment for myself. But I’ve also had some massive highs — and this is one of them.
‘I did really feel desperate this week and I’m just happy and proud that the boys followed this week and delivered that type of performance.
‘I really want this to be the growth now. The way for us to show our growth next week is to back up this performance, in a stadium [in Cardiff] that’s not been without troubles for us over the last 20 years.
‘You can sense it when a moment changes, a feeling inside a change room. And I can’t tell you how happy I am for the group to feel the feeling that I’m feeling now because I really do feel that that is a performance that can change a lot.
‘What we have to do is back-up this performance by keeping doing the things that we’re doing, the things that we’ve been speaking about inside the change room.
Gregor Townsend and Sione Tuipulotu with the Calcutta Cup at Murrayfield
‘We need to make sure that what’s happening outside the changing room [media scrutiny], it continues to have no effects on what’s happening inside.’
Gregor Townsend had been under huge pressure on the back of Scotland falling to such a dismal defeat in Rome on the opening weekend.
The head coach spoke about how victories such as this reminded him of why he got involved in the job in the first place.
Dedicating the win to the fans and the under-fire boss, Tuipulotu added: ‘I felt guilty [after the defeat to Italy].
‘Head coaching is a hard job because when it is going well you get all the positives but when it is not going well you get all of the criticism.
‘I am proud of the boys for getting behind our coach and delivering a performance.’
