If he didn’t look at the scoreboard, it was exactly how Jamie Dobie had pictured it. Taking the field at several of the world’s most iconic stadiums to play for Scotland in the Six Nations in front of capacity crowds.

Gregor Townsend’s team lost all three of the matches in which the Glasgow man featured last year – at home to Ireland and away to England and France – but the overall experience still more than lived up to the childhood dreams that Dobie nurtured while growing up near Inverness.

“I vividly remember coming to Murrayfield for Six Nations games when I was still at school,” says the now 24-year-old, who spent several years at Edinburgh’s Merchiston Castle on a tennis scholarship.

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Scotland’s Jamie Dobie competes in the air with Ireland’s James Lowe during a Guinness Six Nations match between Scotland and Ireland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on February 09, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)

“The one that most sticks in my mind was 2017 and beating Ireland with wee Greeg (Greig Laidlaw) kicking that last-minute penalty. I always try to take a moment to appreciate being out there now, because I know just how cool and special it is.

“Last year was my first involvement in the Six Nations and the size of the occasions, the intensity of the matches, really was something else. As much as, if not more than, what you expect. It was pretty cool to experience both Twickenham and Stade de France for the first time, with the size of the crowds they have and especially the atmosphere in Paris and the whole spectacle they put on. It was unbelievable to be out on that pitch and to run out into those stadiums with those atmospheres as well. I’ve done it a few times at Murrayfield now, but that still never gets old.

“It was tough and challenging to be a part of the three losses. As a squad, in terms of setting high standards for ourselves, we don’t want to be losing three matches in a campaign. It’s really exciting to have the chance in this Six Nations to put our best foot forward to get some better results.”

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Can Dobie make the difference in 2026?

The Scots come into this Six Nations with the residual pain of a bruising autumn which saw them blow a golden opportunity to claim a first-ever win over New Zealand and then throw away a 21-point lead in a madcap final 25 minutes against Argentina.

For Dobie, that collective double blow brought a bitter tang to what had been another campaign of personal progress. He started two matches – against the United States and Pumas – in his preferred position of scrum-half and impressed with both his established individual threat and ability to run the game.

Dobie scored a hat-trick in the Eagles game, the third try coming after he had moved to the wing, the other role in which he has been routinely starring for both club and country. “Playing on the wing, you understand a bit more about how challenging the game in the air is nowadays,” he says.

“Being out there reinforces how important the kicking side of things as a scrum-half is. Having played on the wing has helped my vision as a scrum-half. Obviously on the wing you’ve got a bit more time to look, to see space, to see when opportunities might come your way.

“Sometimes they don’t, so when I go back into scrum-half I have that experience of seeing certain pictures a little bit earlier; understanding what the wings might be seeing and being able to work with the wings when I’m at scrum-half.

“So yes, it’s definitely helped me as a scrum-half. It’s been a big goal of mine in recent campaigns to play as much as possible at scrum-half, but I see it as important to have both and keep developing both as well.”

Read more: Hot shot: Getting to know the young Jamie Dobie 

Scotland’s scrum-half Jamie Dobie runs in a try during the Autumn Nations Series international rugby union match between Scotland and USA at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on November 1, 2025. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty Images)

Scrum-half or wing?

Dobie only found out he was starting against Argentina late-morning on game day when Ben White had to pull out due to a sickness bug. The Toulon man has been Townsend’s go-to starting nine over the last three years, but a recent lack of opportunity at club level, plus Dobie’s rise and rise, may prompt a fresh appraisal ahead of a Six Nations campaign which the Scots begin in Rome on 7 February.

George Horne is also in the mix, but it felt significant that Townsend left him unstripped even as the roof came in on Scotland in that Pumas debacle. Horne has long battled against the perception of him as an ideal impact replacement at Test level, but even that remit is now under serious threat when you consider how Dobie’s positional flexibility plays into a six-two split.

On both sides of the white line, the Highlander is confident and assured, eloquent and engaging, and his response to what happened against Felipe Contepomi’s side paints a picture of a level-headed thinker; someone who does not shy away from the enormous shortcomings but who sees no reason why they must define this team.

“As a squad, and personally, that one did really hurt. It’s one that you’d love to have back, especially that last half an hour when we were in such a strong commanding position.

Read more: Here is Scotland’s squad for the Six Nations

“Just to lose the momentum and then not be able to wrestle it back at all and continue to make mistakes and give them footholds into the game… They just dominated that last 25. The strength of their squad as well now and the players that they’ve got, they were able to capitalise massively. I think that will be a disappointment in terms of where we still need to get to as a team. But I also think it’s important not to sit in it (the pain) for too long.

“It’s important to use the learnings and use the hurt from that to fuel yourself. But it’s not one that comes into Six Nations matches. You don’t want to be thinking about it before you run out.”

That round-one visit to the Olimpico will be enough of an assault on the senses, and if any ghosts of capitulations past do drift through the away dressing room pre-match, they are likely to relate to what happened on that same Roman stage two years ago, when the Scots let slip not one but two big leads to gift Italy a first home Six Nations win since 2013.

“They’ll be coming out all guns blazing for sure,” Dobie acknowledges. “You’ve seen the development and the strength they’ve got in their team. The whole squad now is unbelievably strong. They’ve had some great results recently.

“It will be really challenging going to Rome but another opportunity to start with a win away from home, which is hard to do in the Six Nations. It will be challenging but exciting.”

Dobie’s rise to the top

Dobie has come a long way in recent years, both literally and figuratively. The Scottish rugby grapevine had him earmarked for great things from an early stage, but his initial seasons at Glasgow were a struggle to emerge from the shadow cast by Horne and Ali Price. He cites a spell some 11,000 miles away in New Zealand’s North Island as having been pivotal to his development.

It came in the summer of 2022, just as Franco Smith was taking charge at Scotstoun. Dobie had made his Test debut the previous autumn and was being considered for the tour of Argentina and Chile, but Townsend pointed him in the direction of an opportunity with Bay of Plenty in the NPC. The assignment might not have had the same immediate lustre, but it proved exactly what was required at that specific moment in time.

In one of many rich experiences, Dobie was part of the first Bay of Plenty team to win at Eden Park in 18 years – he would later enjoy a second Auckland triumph with Scotland against Samoa. Furthermore, the confidence and technical insights he gained allowed him to hit the ground running under Smith, who has been an avowed fan of his attitude, aptitude and adaptability from day one.

Read more: New Zealand fixtures

Jamie Dobie of Scotland clears a ruck during the summer test between Samoa v Scotland at Eden Park on July 18, 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Craig Butland/MB Media/Getty Images)

“The opportunity to go to New Zealand came from the national set-up and through Glasgow. You’re always keen to be involved with Scotland as much as possible, but I was encouraged to look at the bigger picture a little bit and understand the longer-term development that opportunity could have for me.

“It was a massive building block for me, both rugby-wise and in terms of the life experience of going over there and experiencing the culture and the rugby culture over there. I met some amazing people and living in the Mount Maunganui area was unbelievably special. It’s about as picturesque a spot as you can get, which is high praise from a Highlander!

“In terms of rugby development, I ended up only playing four matches in the NPC before getting injured. But even in that period it was great to learn from different coaches and play with different players with slightly different styles. It brought my confidence on as much as my game, which was a massive part.

“It was a really good stepping stone for me. Getting game time at Glasgow at that point wasn’t always the easiest, so being able to go out and do that was so beneficial.”

Dobie is in the penultimate year of a business degree at University of Strathclyde, and kicked off the week of December’s blockbuster clash with Toulouse with a finance exam on the Monday. He is putting in place foundations for his future while continuing to build a formidable reputation in the here and now.

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