‘No excuses’ - Ali Price on Scotland’s strength in depth and chasing four or five wins in the Six Nations

Gregor Townsend has some big calls to make ahead of Thursday’s Calcutta Cup team announcement but scrum-half is unlikely to be one of them.

Ever since Greig Laidlaw stepped away from international rugby after the 2019 World Cup Ali Price has made the Scotland No 9 jersey his own.

The popular Glasgow Warriors player is on course to break the 50-cap barrier over the next few weeks as he embarks on his sixth Six Nations campaign.

It all starts on Saturday with England’s visit to BT Murrayfield and, as Townsend ponders difficult selection decisions at inside centre and No 8, it would be a huge shock if Price was not picked alongside his old halfback partner, Finn Russell.

Price, a natural enthusiast, thinks the current squad is packed with talent and good enough to push for the title. Three wins in a championship has been the glass ceiling for Scotland since the Five Nations became Six but the scrum-half believes it’s time to break through.

“There’s depth in every position now, which maybe has been lacking at times in the past,” Price said. “There are no excuses now because we’ve got it all there, we’ve got the training facilities, we’ve got everything in place for us to perform.

“It’s about the guys that get the chance in the 23 to get out there and put out a performance that we’re all proud of and that the nation’s proud of. Hopefully that’s what gets us over the line.

“It’s a strong squad and everyone’s confident. There’s a lot of guys in good form who are looking to go out there and enjoy it and hopefully get off to the best start possible.”

Scotland did that last year, beating England at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years. But narrow home losses to Wales and Ireland set them back, although they did finish