SCOTLAND ARE DOWN … BUT THEY SHOULD NOT BE OUT

It has been said this week, after a limp and ineffectual display against England, that Scotland do not have an inviolable right to be in the Six Nations and that countries such as Georgia should not be condemned to dwell in the shadows perpetually.

The democracy of the game in Europe is something that will be discussed when the future of the European Cup is sorted out. France want an end to the rule of the Six Nations committee, and with it an inherent conflict of interest. They have proposed a governing organisation that embraces every member union in Europe with everyone to have access to all cross-border areas, including the Six Nations. Nothing will change any time soon, but with rugby union now an Olympic sport, giving smaller nations access to government support, the old order needs to evolve.

What was most disheartening about Scotland's performance against England was that it never threatened to match the fervour of the home crowd. If the home side lacked the overall quality of England, the atmosphere, the wet weather and the poor state of the pitch should all have acted as a leveller.

It was set up for a typically passionate and attritional Calcutta Cup encounter, furious and frantic if not fast, but Scotland were as damp as the conditions, not so much losing as surrendering. When Scott Johnson, the interim head coach who is handing over to Vern Cotter in the summer, started his after-match media conference with a hint of levity, his tone changed under hostile questioning. No one was laughing.

Two matches had produced two penalties, although Scotland's defeat away to Ireland in the opening round was not as heavy as Wales's there six days later, 22 points compared with 23. Their next match, against Italy in Rome, will be as significant in the battle to avoid finishing bottom as the encounter between England and Ireland at Twickenham on the same day will be in the contest to win the title; as it has been for most of the Six Nations years.

Scotland are down. The problems facing the game north of the border have been well chronicled – only two professional teams, one of which has a surfeit of South Africans – and the task facing Cotter, a New Zealander who has helped turn Clermont Auvergne into a consistent force in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup, will be to make the most of what he has.

Johnson has adopted a policy this season of blooding young players, knowing that his future does not depend on results or performances. Cotter will start work little more than a year before a World Cup campaign that will pitch Scotland with South Africa and Samoa, and the interim head coach wants him to have a deeper pool of players than he himself inherited.

Scotland may have made little impact in the 15 seasons of the Six Nations but they have been able to rise to the one-off occasion, and in recent years they have beaten Australia home and away and defeated South Africa at Murrayfield, something the current champions Wales have not managed.

A head coach can make a difference. Wales had won two Six Nations matches in two years when Warren Gatland took over at the end of 2007 and they had been dumped out of the World Cup that year at the group stage. They had won the championship once in the previous 29 years and failed to make the knockout stage in three World Cups, but there was never a suggestion their place in the tournament should be reviewed.

Wales may have a stronger infrastructure than Scotland but under Gatland they have risen above the form of their regions in Europe. It may not be realistic to expect Cotter to have the same impact, but it is not fanciful to suggest that under him the players will better reflect the emotion shown by the crowd last Saturday.

Cotter will need to match Gatland's shrewdness in selection. Johnson's decision to drop Kelly Brown, who had been Scotland's captain, and omit him from the matchday 23 along with the second-row Richie Gray, who not that long ago was regarded as their one player nudging world class, was questioned before the England game and even more so afterwards.

The decisions did not work and his side showed a chronic lack of leadership. Scotland were beaten in every aspect at forward, their discipline fell apart and they failed to put a side with an inexperienced three-quarter line under pressure. It was not a contest.

The same could be said in Dublin where Wales suffered their ninth and heaviest Six Nations defeat in the Gatland era. He released two of his leading forwards, Gethin Jenkins and Sam Warburton, back to Cardiff Blues this week so they could play against Glasgow on Saturday having returned from long lay-offs.

Wales were undone at forward by Ireland as emphatically as England overwhelmed Scotland. A team that sets out to dominate opponents physically fell down and then fell apart when taken on at their own game. What had promised to be one of the matches of the tournament was one-sided and showed the impact a new head coach can make.

Joe Schmidt's Ireland won the tactical battle with Gatland's Wales, the latter remarking this week that Ireland had played two-pass rugby, kicking to the corners or high in the air. They did not allow Wales to feed off their mistakes and the frustration of the champions turned into penalties and acts of petulance, culminating in the yellow card shown to Mike Phillips after a scuffle.

This is when Gatland earns his money. Wales responded to defeat against Ireland last year by winning in Paris, and even though France have started with two victories, it was their opportunism that made the difference against England and Italy. They are feeling their way back after a dismal 2013.

France have a deep player base, as do England. Ireland are underpinned by successful provinces and Wales have strong roots, even if they have focused more on the elite end in recent years. Scotland have to make do with less and the Six Nations as a tournament needs Cotter to maximise the resources he will have.

• This is an extract taken from the Breakdown, the Guardian's weekly free rugby union email. To subscribe, click here.