The crux of the matter is this ... the SRU are too spineless and gutless to sack Gregor Townsend, and he's too stubborn to offer his resignation

Gregor Townsend is finished as Scotland head coach. Done. Finito. The only thing left to do now should be to clear his desk, say his farewells, and see himself out the door at Murrayfield.

He has had ample opportunity to move this whole thing forward but has fundamentally failed to do so. Repeating the same mistakes over and over again is not bad luck. It’s bad management.

None of this is an especially novel revelation for this column. I've argued consistently over the past 18 months that Townsend’s time is up and that a fresh start with a new head coach is much-needed.

But the capitulation against Argentina last weekend plumbed new depths. It was the end game. Irrevocable proof that Townsend has reached the end of the road and should be relieved of his duties.

His continued employment as head coach is now actively hindering whatever chance Scotland have left of achieving tangible success with the best group of players the nation has had in a generation.

Townsend and his bosses at Scottish Rugby will point to continuity, to lessons being learned, about growth and development. It’s all nonsense.

Continuity only matters when it’s producing results. When the same failings are repeated year after year, continuity merely becomes an excuse to avoid accountability.

The fact that Townsend will almost certainly be allowed to continue in post speaks of the wider culture within the SRU; one of delusion and a detachment from reality.

Just look at their social media channels over the past 48 hours or so. Fans are in uproar, the team have just been booed off, yet they post clips of a Ewan Ashman try.

On Instagram, ‘Ashy’s charge’. On the back of such an utterly cataclysmic meltdown, having an ability to read the room becomes a key part of the job.

But it's an area where Scottish Rugby consistently fails. As an organisation, they are so detached from reality that it is excruciating to watch.

Beyond the sheer embarrassment of blowing a 21-point lead, the defeat to Argentina also carried meaningful significance to Scotland.

Whatever chance they had of forcing their way back into the top six of the world rankings and securing a place among the top seeds for the World Cup draw hinged on them winning by a margin of at least 16 points.

So, when the draw for the World Cup is made in a couple of weeks’ time, we can look forward to another nightmare outcome thanks to our lowly seeding.

Ultimately, Townsend has to carry the can for that. Just as he should have carried the can in 2023 when the very same slide down the world rankings saw Scotland drawn in a pool alongside South Africa and Ireland.

We are immediately behind the eight-ball with regards to the next World Cup in 2027. Another cycle is passing us by with a failing head coach, yet the SRU are unwilling to act.

The chief executive Alex Williamson is little more than a Townsend fanboy. That much became clear when he was falling over himself to thrash out a new contract in the summer.

David Nucifora is the de facto performance director, despite the fact that he is only employed on what is effectively a short-term, glorified consultancy basis.

These are the guys to whom Townsend should be accountable. The guys who are marking his homework. The guys who should be demanding answers.

But the crux of the matter is this. The SRU are too spineless and gutless to sack him, while Townsend is too stubborn to offer his resignation.

From his point of view, there is also a financial aspect. Why would he walk away from a shiny new contract? If the SRU want him to go, they would need to pay him off.

Ultimately, Scottish Rugby have walked themselves up a dead end with Townsend. As much as we can scrutinise his failings as a head coach, Williamson is responsible for the awarding of a new deal.

There is also a socio-economic aspect to this. As a sport, rugby has never been more popular in the mainstream. It is no longer the preserve of the upper middle-class.

Over the past decade or so, with world-class talents like Finn Russell, rugby in Scotland has become a huge part of the national sporting fabric.

People who would never previously have paid any attention 20 or 30 years ago have suddenly picked up an interest in the sport.

It is because of this that Murrayfield regularly sells out its capacity of just over 67,000. This has fed a complacency within the SRU, a feeling that fans will flock regardless of results.

This complacency and lack of accountability could now be tested given the outpouring of boos that rang around the stadium at full-time last Sunday.

Townsend’s removal should no longer even be a matter for debate. It’s a necessity. Scotland continue to lurch wildly in their performance levels. The gap between their best and their worst is more extreme than any other nation.

These problems were evident six or seven years ago. They have not been addressed. The ceiling for this team is not set by the players.

It is set by the system guiding them - and that’s Townsend’s system. A system that capitulates all too often, where structural failures are undermining the talent available, and a tenure that has run its course.

Many of these players have won trophies at club level. Several of them have just come off the back of a victorious tour with the British and Irish Lions in the summer. They are proven winners.

But. under Townsend’s guidance, there is a weakness and a mental fragility. A heinous capacity for self-sabotage. Ultimately, that’s on the coach.

Fans are tired of hearing the same excuses, tired of the same delusional attempts at gaslighting them into believing an alternative reality.

They are tired of mediocrity, and of under-achievement being normalised. They are tired of watching a national team who will never rise above the limits and accountability of their own governing body.