The best thing about Scotland's result is the more you think about it, the more incredible it seems

Roll on the Six Nations is all I could think at the end of Scotland’s destruction of Australia, a performance that exceeded anything I thought possible.

I’d said that to back up the promise of the close defeat by New Zealand the Scots had to beat the Wallabies by 20 points, but I never for one moment thought that Gregor Townsend’s side could put more than a half-century on the Aussies and score eight tries in the process.

Like everyone else – except perhaps for Gregor and his players – the way this game unfolded was simply unbelievable.

The best thing about this result is that the more you think about it, the more incredible it seems. 

Scotland not only dismantled Australia, they did it after losing their talisman Stuart Hogg so close to the start of the game. I know from experience the effect that losing a key play in the warm-up can have, and it will often sow confusion.

Yet, a young side containing seven players who have started 10 or fewer Tests were completely unfazed. Nor did their self-belief waver in that opening period when Australia threw the kitchen sink at them. 

There was a period when Scotland didn’t get their hands on the ball for over four minutes, but they kept their shape and discipline. That defensive readiness is the sign of a team which really believes in itself. Even when they made silly mistakes like Finn Russell kicking the ball dead, kicking straight to touch from outside the 22 or dropping the ball, they stayed relentlessly positive.

There is now a resilience and mental strength to this side which matches anything I’ve ever seen from a Scotland side. 

They know they will scores tries and no longer have to depend upon kicking points and hanging on, and that fact has led to a completely fresh attitude.

There seems to be a heightened clarity of thought around the way they play, where they invariably take the right option. It helps that there’s a determination to keep the ball moving as quickly as possible, but they’re not just throwing it around for the sake of it; they’re stretching defences and probing for weaknesses.

The great thing now is that we have dumped the fixation on size and are picking intelligent footballers, from 1 to 15 we now have men who can make the most of openings. Huw Jones was a great example – he is an outstanding player and the way he stood up Tevita Kuridrani for his try was a joy to behold.

It is remarkable to me that a side missing so many players who were supposed to be irreplaceable is showing such calmness. Remember, as well as Hogg this side was without their whole front row, Richie Gray in the second row, Greig Laidlaw, Duncan Taylor and Alex Dunbar. I genuinely think the only player they would struggle to replace now is Russell, who was in stellar form against Australia.

In fact, I’m still staggered at the way so many previously unheralded players have come through. Gregor has unearthed some real gems, some by design, some by circumstance, but they all count.

Take hooker Stuart McInally, whose throwing in was faultless, who led the tackle count and who carried with real conviction. It’s no wonder that Fraser Brown was so disappointed when he had to go off with a head knock shortly after coming on because he knows McInally is making the position his own. It is certainly difficult to see Ross Ford ever breaking back into this side, and the same goes for Greig.

I think one of the reasons that Scotland are performing so well is because Gregor has simply transported the Glasgow Warriors style of play to Scotland. This has given them an identifiable style that fits our national characteristics and is an approach with which many of the players are already familiar.

Gregor has also given the players responsibility and licence to go and play what’s in front of them. I know Gregor well and every week he will challenge himself to get better and to find ways of upping the number of offloads, the pace at which they play, the number of men in support. The players are being forced to do the same.

It’s not just Scots like me whose appetite has been whetted by what we’ve seen this autumn, with many of us already looking ahead to what could be an incredible Six Nations.

I think Scotland are capable of winning all their games, although their main challenges will be Ireland away and England at Murrayfield. The Irish have also impressed this autumn while England are playing a pedestrian brand of rugby that seems like a different sport to that which Scotland are playing. 

Come February 24 at Murrayfield, England will try and strangle and bully a Scotland side that is more streetwise than they were last year. I’m already getting excited at the prospect.