Scotland need to handle pressure better - Hamish Watson

Scotland international Hamish Watson urged the Dark Blues to cope up better with the pressure of expectations as they host France in the upcoming Six Nations clash at BT Murrayfield on Sunday.

Gregor Townsend's side faced a 34-7 defeat to Wales in the opening round that saw them occupy the fifth position in the table and another defeat to France in the next round will pretty much close their hopes of winning their first Six Nations title since 1999.

Since Townsend took over, Scotland had an impressive run in the last year including a successful autumn international campaign but Watson believes how they bounce back from the defeat to Wales will define their character.

“Obviously expectations have risen over the last year because we’re doing well,” Watson said. “But as players we’ve got to handle that pressure better.

“I think both teams are going to go into the game having lost the first game so we need to win.

“Our fans expect us to nowadays, which is great, but we’ve got a lot of pressure on us as well, so we need to go into the game, be positive and try to play the same as we’ve been doing at BT Murrayfield for the last year.”

The 26-year-old also admitted the backlash from fans following a 34-7 defeat to an inexperienced Wales side was on the cards.

“I’d say it’s expected to get a bit of a backlash after a loss like that,” he said.

“I don’t think many people were expecting it and the fans are probably quite right to be a bit hacked off after a game like that, but no-one’s hurting more than the players, so we need to put it right as well.

“We need to go out and be positive and obviously it’s a must-win game for us if we want to have anything to do with this championship, but it’s must win for France as well, so it’s going to be a tough game.”

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