As of Monday he and his management team will have complete control of their own destiny in preparing for the visit of Grand Slam chasing Wales, but Gregor Townsend knows their chances of having increased options for that encounter lie in the hands of the rugby gods this weekend.

Scotland’s head coach and his colleagues can only wait and see whether Finn Russell survives a Top 14 weekend, having failed to do so a fortnight ago; whether WP Nel and Hamish Watson can prove their fitness while playing for Edinburgh; whether Matt Fagerson can prove with Glasgow Warriors that he is ready to return to Test rugby, while older brother Zander gets in some much-needed game time, albeit running the inevitable risk that comes with doing so.

Two more who could make a significant difference will not take that chance, Townsend reporting that Sam Skinner is back in contention, while Glasgow Warriors coach Dave Rennie observed yesterday that Scotland’s continued hopes that Stuart Hogg could yet play in the Six Nations bodes well for his club’s big end of season matches.

“It is a boost to have Finn available for his club this week, but he was available for his club two weeks ago and got injured so we will see what happens,” said Townsend. “Finn was playing really well. He would have loved playing against France in Paris so that was a blow for him and for us. WP was playing really well for his club and played well for us in November and Hamish Watson played well throughout that big period of games for Edinburgh and for us in November. They will add to the selection debate, but we will have to see how they get through this weekend.”

“WP and Hamish are playing for Edinburgh, that is obviously a bonus for us and them, Ben Toolis has gone back to play for Edinburgh, all three of those players game time will be managed so they contribute for their clubs and get match fitness but also with an eye to us involving them next week. Sam Skinner won’t play for his club but is almost back to full training so we will bring him back into the squad if he gets through. I know he had a big session today. That helps, going into the last two games to have people coming back.”

There has clearly been considerable soul-searching since Scotland followed their first Six Nations defeat for more than three years, with a limp performance that saw an opportunity to end a 20-year wait for a win in Paris, squandered against a French team that had been in disarray. Townsend said the coaches had looked at themselves in the first instance, focusing in particular on a poor opening quarter that allowed their home team to build confidence. However, he also expressed dissatisfaction with how players had set about the tasks assigned to them, saying: “If you do your job – which not everyone was doing maybe in that period – then things will get sorted, but if someone doesn’t do their job, it leads to a mistake which puts the pressure on you and gives the French team a lot more confidence.”

Next week’s opponents will need no such help since Wales are preparing for their visit on the back of a record run of consecutive wins, albeit it has not been quite as impressive as Scotland’s coach suggested.

“To take them on is a bigger challenge than at any point in the last 10 years,” said Townsend. “They are probably playing as well as they have ever done, I think 13 games in a row so they have achieved history with the number of wins they have put back to back. They are very confident in how they are playing. You get a win against England and you know you re doing things well. We will have to play much better than we have played in the last two weeks and will have to back up the good moments of game, the first half against Ireland or parts of the French game, and make sure that they continue for 80 minutes.”

That defeat of England actually brought up a round dozen, rather than the baker’s variety, but that was clearly a slip of the tongue or memory, rather than any sort of defeatism.

Even so, having previously insisted that he would be putting out his strongest side in looking to win at all costs, there was a hint of a change of policy, now his team has no chance of winning the Six Nations, leaving them to look ahead to this year’s World Cup.

“Now we have lost two that becomes a factor,” he acknowledged. “We want to put our best team out to win, but we also want to see if players that are knocking on the door for selection could be in the mix for the World Cup. Could this be the time to bring them in in some form? That will depend on the players we have available. We should have more players available this week than we did going to France.

“There are a lot of players that are playing well just now that deserved another opportunity to see what they have learned as a group and individuals out in France. There are other people we might go with as it is a good chance to see them instead of waiting until the summer Tests.”

The nature of summer tour matches has always allowed for a degree of experimentation, but this may be the last year in which that is possible if World Rugby’s plans to create a nations league competition goes through in the format that was revealed this week. Their plan would increase the workload of leading players whose representatives have voiced concern and Townsend said he was pleased they were doing so while offering his own view on where a line must be drawn, saying: “Any format that has five Test matches in a row is one that will put a lot of pressure on squad resources because I don’t think you can play your best team more than four games in a row, for sure.”