But the mood quickly turned sour after they managed to win just one game, against fellow strugglers Italy in their last match.

And it hasn’t been much better in domestic circles with Edinburgh and Glasgow struggling in the Magners League this season.

All this has prompted a performance review, their first since 2007, and McKie believes the future looks brighter for Scottish rugby.

“The last three months have been bitterly disappointing after what occurred last year,” said McKie.

“It's incumbent on me, Andy and others to do something about that.

“Together we have a resolve and a determination to tackle some areas that are not right and there's room for improvement.

“Over the next couple of months or so we're going to look at all things rugby, performance rugby, particularly, to look at how we can do things better.

“Come May, June, hopefully, we'll come out with a vision which is achievable and is realistic and will ultimately contribute to more regularly winning teams.”