Just as Gregor Townsend was finishing his media duties on Saturday night, a huge roar went up from outside Murrayfield.
Out in the car park, a few thousand Scotland fans had stayed on to watch Italy against England on the big screens
England’s latest calamity was cheered with just as much gusto as all of Scotland’s seven tries in the annihilation of France just a couple of hours earlier.
But the boot will be on the other foot next weekend. For the first time in his life, as a coach, a player, and a fan, Townsend will be praying for an England win over the French in Paris.
That could be the gateway to Six Nations glory, so long as his team can do their own job first of all and beat Ireland in Dublin.
Easier said than done, of course, but the prospect of everyone in Scotland cheering on England does present a bizarre scenario.
Gregor Townsend revels in what was undoubtedly the finest result of his Scotland tenure
Admitting it’ll be a first, Townsend said: ‘Have I ever supported England in a match before? That’s a good question. Probably not, but we’ll see.
‘England-France games have tended to be very competitive over the years. You have a motivated England team going out there to finish their season on a high.
‘We were playing France last year when they were going for the title and we played really well against them.
‘France did get away in that second half but the opposition didn’t hold back that day and I’m sure England won’t do that next week.
‘We’ve still got to do all we can to win and we’ve not done that against Ireland for the last few years, so that is the big challenge.’
With Scotland derailing France’s Grand Slam bid in an all-time classic, and Italy claiming an historic win over England, Saturday was just a brilliant day for rugby.
Darcy Graham crosses for one of his two tries as France are left flummoxed at Murrayfield
With pretty much every team cutting each other’s throat at some point, this has been a magnificent championship. One of the very best of the Six Nations era.
Now comes the prospect of three teams — France, Ireland and Scotland — heading into the final day still vying to win the title.
There could be a multitude of permutations. But, in simple terms, Scotland need to beat Ireland whilst hoping England do them a favour in Paris.
It’s in France’s hands. If they take a bonus-point win over England, they win the championship. However, if they only take four points, then that again opens the door for Scotland if they can take maximum points in Dublin. Ireland, meanwhile, need to hope France don’t win in order to stand a chance.
Would there be an argument to have all three games starting at the same time next weekend on Super Saturday, so as to avoid any team having a perceived advantage? Not for Townsend.
‘No, I think everybody enjoys Super Saturday,’ said the Scotland head coach. ‘It’s great, isn’t it? You want to watch games separately.
‘Supporters turn up at venues early to watch the one before. I think it’s great. The Six Nations is a wonderful tournament, having those six different nations but also how it’s spread out.
Jack Dempsey produced a Terminator-like performance having recovered from injury to play
‘I think the move to six weeks this year instead of seven has not reduced the quality, it’s made it even better. Super Saturday now is brilliant.
‘France could have won the tournament this weekend. They didn’t. Three teams are in the mix for it next week so I think the organisers and the rugby public couldn’t have asked for a better last day.’
Scotland were outstanding on Saturday. Against a French team who had been in red-hot form, they rose to the challenge quite magnificently.
After a result and performance such as this, there is always a clamour to ask where it ranks and to contextualise it all.
The finest of Townsend’s nine years in the job? Undoubtedly. Given the quality of opposition and what was at stake, this stands top of the pile.
It might even have been Scotland’s best win of the professional era. This was seismic, a victory which opens the door to what could be a glorious denouement in Dublin next weekend.
It’s St Patrick’s Day weekend and Scotland want to party. The back pages will be full of Willie Mullins and the Cheltenham Festival over the next week, but it’s Scotland who have one last hurdle to jump.
Knowing that a championship is on the line, there is almost something poetic in that it should be Ireland in Dublin on the final day.
They are Townsend’s nemesis. He has failed to beat them in 11 previous attempts as head coach, a run stretching all the way back to 2011.
There have been some hammerings in there, too. A couple of World Cup no-shows where Scotland left with their tails between their legs.
But Townsend feels this squad now have such belief and momentum that they are in a very different place compared to some of those previous contests against the Irish.
‘We have been maybe guilty in the past of looking too much in depth into Ireland,’ he said. ‘We expect Ireland will play well, they could still win the championship, so we need to be ready for that.
‘We need to perform like we did against France, continue to be relentless, and do it for 80 minutes to have a chance.
‘We know we’re going for an opportunity [to win the title] but also a Triple Crown that we’ve never had since 1990.
Kyle Steyn picked up an injury in trying to stop Dupont’s try but should be fit for next week
‘We’ve got a big opponent that we haven’t beaten for a while. So there’s enough motivation in there to just make sure that we do all we can to win the game.’
Where do you start with this performance? Both individually and collectively, Scotland raised the bar to a whole new level. This was a day when they came of age against a truly top-tier opponent.
In the first half, Finn Russell, Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones ripped France apart with the fluidity of their movement in midfield.
Is there a better 10, 12 and 13 axis in world rugby right now? On this form, it’s hard to see it. On the wings, Kyle Steyn and Darcy Graham brought a rapier incision and finishing prowess.
Steyn will surely be on the shortlist to win player of the championship. He picked up a nasty cut on Saturday and had to go off injured, but Scotland expect him to be OK for Dublin.
Up front, Jack Dempsey was a human wrecking ball. Time and time again, he made destructive carries. His bicep was almost torn in half against England and it looked like he would miss the rest of the championship.
This was Dempsey The Terminator; an indestructible force of nature. He would need to have limbs hanging off to keep him away from Dublin now.
Townsend and his skipper Sione Tuipulotu revel in victory but will now be focused on Ireland
Especially in the 20 minutes or so after half-time, Scotland blew France away. Leading 19-14 at the break, they hit the turbo-booster.
They actually led 47-14 with just under 20 minutes to play. It was mind-bending brilliance, every single French error ruthlessly punished with a lethal touch, 67,000 fans with their jaws on the floor.
It was a demolition job and, at that stage, Scotland were set to go top of the table. They would have been the masters of their own destiny heading into the final weekend.
They will rue the late flurry of four France tries in the final 15 minutes which swung the championship back in favour of Les Bleus.
But what a day this had been. The very best of Townsend’s time in charge. For the first time in the Six Nations era, they now have a shot at glory going into the final weekend.