We've got to handle the pressure better, says Scotland's Hamish Watson

Scotland produced the most disappointing display of round one as they slumped to a 34-7 defeat by Wales in Cardiff

Hamish Watson in action for Scotland against Wales at the weekend (Getty)

Hamish Watson has admitted that Scotland need to step up their performance in the “must-win” Six Nations encounter with France this weekend and meet the level of expectation that is on them in this year’s championship.

Scotland produced the most disappointing display of round one as they slumped to a 34-7 defeat by Wales in Cardiff, with Gregor Townsend’s side only getting themselves on the scoresheet in the final two minutes.

Having entered the weekend as potential outsiders for the title, Scotland are now fighting to keep any hope of a championship bid alive, and along with France – who suffered an agonising 15-13 defeat by Ireland after time has expired – they are looking to salvage a result that would keep them in the mix if England, Wales and Ireland all slip-up further down the line.

"Both teams are going into the game having lost the first one, so we need to win," said Scotland openside Hamish Watso, who is likely to retain his place at openside flanker.

"Our fans expect us to nowadays, which is great, but we've got a lot of pressure on us as well.

"So we need to be positive and try to play the same as we've been doing at BT Murrayfield for the last year.

"Obviously expectations have risen over the last year because we're doing well. But, as players, we've got to handle that pressure better."

The side’s inability to deal with such pressure was highlighted when Scotland travelled to Twickenham last year to take on England with genuine hopes of winning a first Calcutta Cup clash since 2008, only to completely crack under pressure and suffer a record 61-21 defeat.

A similar performance was produced in last Saturday’s championship curtain-raiser, which saw Wales surge to a 14-0 lead after Scotland failed to make the most of their chances, with the gap soon stretching to 34-0 before Peter Horne’s late consolation.

But teammate Sean Maitland believes that a much-improved display will be on show this weekend because the Scots are returning to familiar territory at Murrayfield, where they won five of their six games there in 2017 and lost only to reigning world champions New Zealand.

"[France are] in a similar situation to us, both picked up losses first up and we can't afford to lose a second game,” said Maitland.

"We know this is a really important game. The good thing for us is we're playing at home. Our form over the last two years has been really good playing at home. It's a must-win game."