Grant Gilchrist refuses to ponder international retirement because he remains convinced Gregor Townsend’s Scotland are on the cusp of something “really special” despite another underwhelming Guinness Six Nations.
The 34-year-old Edinburgh lock won his 80th cap in Paris on Saturday night as France ran out 35-16 winners over the Scots to seal a first title since 2022.
Scotland had started with hopes of contending for the championship themselves but losses to Ireland, England and Les Bleus consigned them to a second consecutive fourth-placed finish.
In the wake of another campaign not panning out as hoped, Gilchrist – who turns 35 in August and is the oldest player in the squad – insisted his appetite to keep turning out for the national team remains undiminished.
“I’m not going away,” he stated. “At some point I’ll not be good enough but I absolutely love playing in games and atmospheres like Saturday. That’s why pulling on a Scotland jersey is a dream come true for me every time.
“Growing up I didn’t think I’d get a chance to play for Scotland so I certainly won’t be walking away. I’m going to be trying my utmost to stay in this team because I love being part of it and I feel really strongly, really passionately that there’s a really special championship, tour or World Cup in this team, and it’s really not as far away as people say.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but I think when you look at where we’re at, it’s about consistency, it’s not about ability and I think that’s an exciting thing for Scottish rugby.”
There have been calls in some quarters for Townsend to step aside after almost eight years in charge. But Gilchrist believes that – despite the erratic tendencies that continue to undermine their efforts to become genuine contenders – Scotland are playing a level of rugby under their long-serving head coach that should not be underestimated.
“After eight years, you can take for granted the changes that have happened within that time,” said Gilchrist when asked about the scrutiny on Townsend. “I think you become a victim of your own success a little bit because we’ve set the bar really high.
“We’ve played some rugby that hasn’t been seen in a Scotland jersey for a long time and when we don’t perform, it then stands out like a sore thumb now in this team. Gregor and the coaching team, they’ve got the answers and that stability and the ability to build and get better year on year, and that has to be, for me, the answer.”
For all the praise Scotland have had for their adventurous rugby, they have finished fourth in five of the last six Six Nations and suffered pool-stage elimination at the last two World Cups.
“We’ve got to be honest with ourselves, we’re a good team but to be pushing for a title we have to be better,” said Gilchrist. “We have set the bar really high for spells of games, but it’s about how can we make that into a full 80 minutes or a full championship?
“If you look at different aspects of the game, we’ve been excellent in every individual area at times throughout this tournament, but not week in, week out.
“So that consistency, that feeling going into the game, whatever it is, we’ve just got to keep searching because the answers are in this team. I’ve got 100 per cent faith in everybody, from the coaches to the players. Everyone is trying their absolute best and it will come right, I believe it will.”
