It is not unfair to say that 2011 has been an underwhelming year for Scottish rugby.

A disappointing showing in the Six Nations left fans anxious about their team's chances going into the 2011 Rugby World Cup, where Scotland did show flashes of brilliance and were unlucky not to qualify from the group stages.

As Scotland regroup ahead of the 2012 Six Nations, Sports Mole looks back at a particularly frustrating year in Scottish rugby union.

Six Nations

Scotland went in to the tournament on the back of an autumn series that featured wins over South Africa and Samoa.

They played their first match against a try-hungry French team in Paris. The high-scoring affair ended in a 34-21 win for Les Bleus, but Scotland were boosted as they managed to get over the line three times.

Next, they travelled to Cardiff, where they could only manage two penalties in an eventual 24-6 loss, before they hosted Ireland at Murrayfield – again only managing to put away penalties and a drop goal while their Celtic opponents went over three times.

A loss to England in the following round meant that Scotland went into the last weekend of the tournament looking to avoid the wooden spoon. They got off the bottom of the table with their only win of the tournament, beating Italy 21-8. Their scoring problems were highlighted by Nick de Luca's try – Scotland's first try at Murrayfield in two years.

Summer

If the Six Nations was a dismal affair for the Scottish, their showing in the two warm-up friendlies ahead of the World Cup was enough to get fans excited.

They beat both Ireland and Italy at Murrayfield in August to build up some momentum with the tournament just a month away.

Rugby World Cup

Scotland were drawn in a tough group that also featured England and Argentina.

Their first pool match against Romania ended in a victory for the Scots but it was a tense affair, as they were they were 24-21 behind the Romanians with a quarter of the game left.

A comfortable win over Georgia followed, before Scotland fell to Argentina in a nervy 13-12 game.

They went in to their final pool game with survival in mind, but also with the chance to knock England out of the tournament. In a passionate display, the Scots led England 12-3 with a quarter of the game to go, but a late Chris Ashton try put an end to Scottish hopes of progressing – they failed to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time in World Cup history.

Winter

Scottish rugby legend Chris Paterson announced his retirement from the international game in December. The most-capped Scottish player of all time, Paterson represented his country on 109 occasions over a 12-year career, scoring a record 809 points in the process.

2011 was undoubtedly a disappointing year for Scotland. Andy Robinson has a lot to look at if the team are to really mount a challenge in next year's Six Nations, which they kick off against England at Murrayfield on February 4.