Six Nations: Gregor Townsend defends Scotland squad in the face of Matt Williams criticism

Gregor Townsend has defended himself and his squad in the face of claims by former Scotland coach Matt Williams that they have been guilty of talking themselves up and then failing to deliver on their promise in the Six Nations.

Prior to the championship, Townsend, the current coach, described this group of players as the strongest he has worked with since 1999, the last time Scotland won the title.

They opened this season’s campaign with a home win over England but lost in round two to Wales in Cardiff. They take on France at Murrayfield on Saturday and Townsend has admitted it is a match they need to win to retain realistic hope of a title challenge.

Williams, who was in charge of the national side between 2003 and 2005 and whose record is by far the poorest of any Scotland coach in the professional era, was unsparing in his criticism on Irish television.

Speaking after the Wales game, he accused Scotland of “making fools of themselves”.

“I think the talk about it being their year was coming from the Scotland camp again,” Williams said on Virgin Media Sport. “They’ve just got to shut up. Until they actually action out and live their talk they’ve got to shut up because they’re making fools of themselves.

“They’ve done this about four years in a row. They win a couple of biggies and then the next week they lose. Each time they come out and say ‘we’re going to win, this is us, we’re a great side’, and they’re not doing themselves any favours in the rugby world. They’ve just got to stop the talk, tone it down and live it.”

Townsend dismissed Williams’ remarks, insisting his players did not deserve such criticism and defending their right to be ambitious.

“It’s all pretty irrelevant, people have their opinions,” said