Next in our set of previews ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year’s third place finishers, Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.

Scotland head into this year’s tournament with plenty of optimism despite delivering a mixed bag of results during last year’s November internationals.

Despite finishing on the losing side in their Tests against Wales and South Africa, they produced competitive performances in both those fixtures and also claimed deserved victories over Fiji and Argentina.

However, their optimism stems mainly from the form of their club sides, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, who have both qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup and who are also also amongst the front-runners in their respective conferences in the PRO14 competition.

Apart from the players from those two clubs, who will form the core of Townsend’s squad, Scotland also have players who are doing well in Europe’s other premier club competitions and the Scots will be quietly confident as they prepare for the Six Nations.

Last year: There was plenty of expectation in the Scottish ranks but they got off to the worst possible start and suffered a humiliating 34-7 defeat to Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

They bounced back with a hard-fought 32-26 triumph over France at Murrayfield thanks largely to excellent goal-kicking from Greig Laidlaw, who contributed 22 points courtesy of six penalties and two conversions.

Scotland’s next match was their higlight of the tournament as they notched a thrilling 25-13 victory over England at Murrayfield and, in doing so, lifted the Calcutta Cup for the first time in 10 years.

That victory gave Townsend and his charges plenty of confidence ahead of their clash with Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, but their opponents proved too strong and dominated from the outset before eventually claiming a 28-8 victory.

They finished their campaign with a narrow 29-27 win over Italy in Rome after Laidlaw kicked the match-winning penalty in the game’s dying moments.

This year: If Scotland want to launch a serious challenge then they will have to repeat last year’s feat of winning all their home fixtures.

They kick off their campaign at Murrayfield against perennial also-rans Italy before hosting defending champions Ireland at the same venue. Scotland then face France in Paris and Wales at Murrayfield and finish their campaign at Twickenham against England.

They will be expected to beat Italy comfortably but their next match – against Ireland – will be crucial as it could blow the competition wide open if they beat the champions.

And despite heading to Paris for their next Test, they will fancy their chances of beating France although they face much trickier assignments in their last two matches.

Key players: Scotland have several outstanding attacking players but the form of their half-back pairing of Greig Laidlaw and Finn Russell will be crucial to their success. Both have done well in the Top 14 – Laidlaw for Clermont and Russell for Racing 92 – with the former’s goal-kicking and latter’s playmaking skills particularly impressive.

As the captain of the side, Laidlaw will also be expected to lead from the front and he should get good support in that department from Edinburgh skipper and hooker Stuart McInally, who impressed when captaining Scotland during their June Test against Argentina and a November international against Wales last year.

Players to watch: Scotland possess several brilliant back-line players and the likes of Stuart Hogg, Huw Jones, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour should make a big impact on attack if inside backs like Laidlaw and Russell create space for them.

Amongst the forwards, Newcastle flanker John Hardie makes his return to the Test arena for the first time since last year’s Six Nations and he will have a huge responsibility on his shoulders after Hamish Watson was ruled out of the tournament with a fractured hand last week.

Also keep an eye on Exeter utility forward Sam Skinner, who impressed at lock and on the blindside flank respectively during starts in last year’s November Tests against Fiji and South Africa.

Prospects: Scotland will fancy their chances of improving on last year’s third place finish as they have a more favourable draw on paper than the one they had last year. However, much will depend on how they fare against tournament favourites and champions Ireland in their second match at Murrayfield. A victory in that encounter could see them challenging for second place but that’s unlikely which means they will have to settle for fourth spot.