Former Scotland full-back Hugo Southwell believes the future of the national side is in safe hands with Greig Laidlaw as captain.

The Gloucester scrum-half proved an inspirational figure throughout the Rugby World Cup as the Scots came within a whisker of beating Australia and making it to the semi-finals for the first time since 1991.

And while controversy continues to surround the circumstances of the last-gasp 35-34 defeat at Twickenham on Sunday, Southwell has seen plenty of promise in Laidlaw’s leadership.

Finn Russell, 23, Stuart Hogg, 23, and Mark Bennett, 22, look set to form the backbone of any future Scotland side and Southwell sees 30-year-old Laidlaw as key to their development.

“Seeing the likes of Finn Russell and Mark Bennett on the outside of Greig is really exciting and his experience will help them develop,” said Southwell, who was talking at an SSE Rugby House Party, where he surprised one lucky customer and watched a World Cup quarter-final in their living room.

“He does orchestrate everything for these 23, 24-year-olds who we could see in a Scotland shirt for the next ten years. If the guys stay fit they’ve got the talent to become a top team."

“To say he is one of the best scrum-halves in the world is getting a bit ahead of ourselves but it’s great to see."

“What’s pleased me with Greig Laidlaw has been his decision making, as both a captain and a scrum-half – he never seems to make the wrong decision, whether it’s bringing people into the game or going through a hole himself.”

Having picked up the wooden spoon in the Six Nations earlier this year, Southwell admits Vern Cotter’s young side made great strides in the Rugby World Cup.

But the 35-year-old, who made 59 appearances for Scotland, insists there is still some room for improvement in defence.

“With the way they are playing they are going to leak tries, but you can’t concede 77 combined points against South Africa and Samoa and expect to win Test matches against the best in the world,” he added.

“It’s always been about improvement for Scotland, we’ve had some good times and some pretty bad times too. It’s a young team, with a particularly young back-line and the attack has massively improved."

“I think it’s more the defensive system than individual errors, whether that’s getting the structure slightly wrong or the spacing has not been quite right – that’s where I want to see Scotland get better after being so promising in attack.”

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