Townsend determined to end Scots’ away curse

Gregor Townsend says Scotland are determined to end the dismal run of form away from Murrayfield — beginning against Ireland.

Townsend’s men begin the tournament on February 1 against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Aside from winning against Italy in Rome, the Scots have not managed a Six Nations away victory since beating the Irish at Croke Park in 2010.

“They’re difficult because teams are very good and teams have excellent home records,” he said of securing away victories. “Ireland have lost one (home) game in the championship in the last five years, so that just shows how difficult it is for any team to win away from home.

“You have to be at your very best, you have to stay in the fight, you can’t give the opposition easy points, you can’t get the crowd even more energised than it is. We’ve got to be better, we know that, that’s a key focus for us.

“Starting with an away game this year — even though it’s a really tough challenge — is the best preparation for us to see where we are, see if we have learnt over they last few years of how we can do better away from home and what we have to work on after that.”

Scotland welcome England to Murrayfield on February 8. Townsend admits to being unsure how their opponents will be affected by the Saracens situation.

“Who knows? Sometimes things like this bring a group closer together — as you saw in the second half at the weekend of the Saracens-Racing game,” said Townsend.

Townsend’s own 38-man squad includes Saracens wing Sean Maitland, though he has omitted Sarries team-mate Duncan Taylor, who travelled to last year’s World Cup but has been left out for the Six Nations.