VERN Cotter has insisted that Scotland will need to keep up the improvement he has seen over the three Autumn Tests if they are to get next year’s Six Nations Championship off to a winning start.

The head coach was pleased with many aspects of his team’s 43-16 win over Georgia on Saturday, which followed a defeat by Australia and a victory over Argentina, but suggested that Scotland’s improvement should not be seen in isolation. In particular, he highlighted the progress made by Ireland, who visit Murrayfield in February on the first weekend of the championship and who recently defeated New Zealand for the first time in their history.

“We have to improve,” Cotter said after the win at Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park. “Australia put real heat on us and Argentina really put heat on us. That’s a compliment, as they see we’re a good attacking team and they try to break us down and slow it up and dominate the attack.

“We’ve had to work extra hard. Richie Gray [the breakdown coach] has been helping us with that and he’s doing a great job. We have to focus on that.

“Ireland have been focusing on that for a number of years and you saw that against the All Blacks. That’s something we have to improve, and it’s one of our focus points

“There are things from this game that will help us in the Six Nations as well. It was not all perfect.

“We went in with a plan and the guys stuck to it and we got the three tries early on and had them under pressure. That type of intensity was important. They had a strong scrum and a couple didn’t go well for us, but all the guys fought well.

“There are some positive things, but also things we have to build on and improve.

We need to improve knowing what Ireland have done recently as that game will be huge to us.”

Cotter was happy to engage in praise of individual players, and summed up the general progress made over the three matches in two simple sentences, one referring to the blooding of new players and the other to the greater consistency shown by his squad over the course of the three games. “Having extra depth in the squad helps as there are injuries at this level. There has been a shift and it is pretty obvious to see.”

But he has never been one for dwelling on the past, and made it clear that his focus had already shifted to preparing for the visit of Ireland. “The catchphrase in Scotland is a good autumn and then a poor Six Nations. We want to show we’re progressing and we’ll analyse these performances.

“The players are aware they get a break now and they need sharpen their skill sets. They know Ireland and how they play. They’re a humble bunch and that’s one of the qualities I enjoy from this bunch. They know Ireland is a top team, but we can improve.”