'They've just got to shut up... they're making fools of themselves'

Former Scotland head coach Matt Williams hasn’t spared his former employers, describing Gregor Townsend’s team as ‘making fools of themselves’ in the lead up to their Six Nations loss to Wales last weekend. Williams was only the second Australian in one hundred years to be appointed as a head coach of a Six Nations championship team when he was appointed in 2003.

His two seasons remain the worst of any Scotland coach in the professional era by a considerable margin, with a win rate of less than one in five games. Despite this, Williams hasn’t shied away from being critical of the team in his current career as a rugby pundit.

His most recent television appearance on Virgin Sports in Ireland was no different, with the 62-year-old putting the boot into the men in blue. “I think that talk about it being their year was coming from the Scotland camp, again,” Williams said.

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“They have just got to shut up. Until they actually action out and live their talk, they have got to shut up because they are making fools of themselves. They have done this for about four years in a row. They win a couple of biggies and then the next week they lose. And each time they come out and say ‘we’re going to win, we’re a great side’. They’re not doing themselves any favours in the rugby world.

“They have just got to stop the talk, tone it down and live it,” concluded Williams, who left the role as head coach of the national team in 2005. The Virgin Sports panel were roundly critical of the Scots, the theme of the big win followed by a big loss being the dominant narrative around Townsend’s men.

"They just gotta shut up. Until they actually action out, and live their talk, they've got to shut up. They've been making fools of themselves."

Ian McKinley, Matt Williams and Rob Kearney on Scotland after defeat yesterday.#WALvSCO #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/gDLwI4CSwi

— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 13, 2022

“They are so inconsistent,” added fellow panellist Rob Kearney, who was equally unimpressed with the Scottish team’s latest failure to back up a big win. “Then they will probably go and do another Scottish thing and potentially turn France over at Murrayfield, which is something that you wouldn’t bet against them. But they are just full of hot air a lot of times.

“They keep complaining ‘why we are not at the top table when everyone is talking about potential winners – we should be there and we can beat anyone on our day’. Yeah, you can but you never back it up.”