This isn’t a dig so please don’t take it as such…. But I also think it’s a little bit due to the fact they are in their “golden generation” but haven’t accomplished much other than a few Calcutta cup wins. They’ve had the talent to be pushing for a 6 nations win but have never got above 3rd
The issue is that we don’t have a full XV of phenomenal players, but for some reason that’s taken as a reason to detract from the genuinely world-class players. When Wales are shite, everyone rightfully gives Jac Morgan the plaudits he deserves, the same for Michael Hooper and Sergio Parisse, but for some reason Scotland doesn’t get given the same treatment.
I’ll admit I’m a bit bitter at the overwhelmingly nice reaction towards Wales becoming shite, everyone saying that they hope they come back into form soon and that world rugby isn’t the same without a strong Wales. I grew up with fans from other countries mocking Scotland during our shite period, and I have no memories of being told by anyone that they hope Scotland becomes competitive again - contrarily, it seems whenever Scotland or a Scotland player does well, there’s a search to find a reason why that’s not actually thanks to Scotland/the player, rather the other team did something wrong. This is turning into a big rant, but I also feel Scottish fans need to do a better job at standing up for our players and advocating for them, myself included
On the Wales comparison I wonder if that’s because the online fanbases skew younger, and their childhood had some heavy periods of Welsh domination, so to see this current team and situation is a clear sign of eras changing in quite a dramatic way. To these fans a weak Wales truly doesn’t feel like the same tournament that they used to watch.
Conversely, if a Scotland team that is deemed good is still only reaching 3rd or 4th place, there’s less of a swing between that and the wooden spoon teams that these same fans would have grown up on and become accustomed to, regardless of the actual talent on the pitch.
I'm definitely part of that generation and remember multiple Welsh grand slams and semi finals. The absolute collapse has been quite shocking given they were decent as late as 2021.
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u/mhaze0791 Northampton Saints Jun 21 '25
This isn’t a dig so please don’t take it as such…. But I also think it’s a little bit due to the fact they are in their “golden generation” but haven’t accomplished much other than a few Calcutta cup wins. They’ve had the talent to be pushing for a 6 nations win but have never got above 3rd