Finn Russell says Scotland are “desperate to win a trophy” after failing to live up to “high expectations” in recent tournaments.
Their last title was the 1999 Five Nations and their last two World Cup campaigns have ended at the pool stage.
Some good recent wins aren’t enough for Russell as he eyes Six Nations glory.
“For the last four, five or six years we’ve had high expectations going into Six Nations and World Cups, and never won anything,” the fly-half said.
“We’ve had some big results – beaten England away and at home, beaten France away. A few big results which for Scotland is brilliant, but we’ve never won anything, have we?
“These one-off games are great to win but as a group we’re desperate to win a trophy.”
Russell says it was “a massive honour” to be named co-captain alongside Rory Darge for the tournament, with Scotland getting under way against Wales in Cardiff on 3 February.
The Bath fly-half says he has matured both on and off the field, and reflected on how his relationship with head coach Gregor Townsend has grown since their public falling out in 2020.
“You wouldn’t have picked me as captain three or four years later, would you?” Russell said.
“At the time it wasn’t great for either side, but it shows both our characters that we’ve managed to get over that to where we are now.
“It shows how we’ve both changed and adapted off the back of that situation. These things happen in high-pressure environments when things are potentially not going as planned.
“It’s not something me and Gregor talk about much. I’d say our relationship is the best it’s ever been.
“It’s much more relaxed now actually, if that makes sense. It’s still a player-coach relationship but it feels more relaxed and open than that in terms of just blethering away, whether it’s rugby stuff or just chatting about off-field things.
“I think the relationship between me and Gregor is in a great position right now for us to ideally drive the team on to a title.”
