Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend is excited about having the chance to “drive the team forward” in the coming years after signing a contract extension until April 2026.
The 50-year-old’s previous deal was due to expire after the World Cup in France this autumn, and there had been intense speculation prior to this year’s Six Nations that he would be leaving his post as – at that point – there had been no talks with the Scottish Rugby Union about an extension.
However, a strong tournament in which the Scots finished third appears to have persuaded Townsend’s paymasters that he deserves the chance to continue leading the team for the next three years.
“Being head coach of Scotland is a tremendous honour and I’m excited about the potential of the current squad of players and the game they can deliver against the best teams in the world,” said Townsend, who is already Scotland’s longest-serving head coach after taking the reins almost six years ago.
“I also feel the connection the team has with the country is special and that our supporters are backing the team like never before.
“The number of people who arrive two hours early to welcome the team off the bus on a home matchday demonstrates the love shown for this group of players and their belief that the squad can achieve something special.
“Our focus right now remains on Rugby World Cup preparations, but I am delighted to have secured my future for the next few years and look forward to continuing to do all I can to drive the team forward and inspire our supporters.”
Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson is keen to maintain “continuity” and “momentum” with Townsend at the helm.
“Gregor Townsend has been the most successful Scotland coach in the history of the professional era and we believe he is the right man to lead the national team beyond this year’s Rugby World Cup,” he said.
“What Gregor has built over the last six years of his tenure has taken Scotland to fifth in the world rankings and we are keen to keep that continuity and forward momentum.
“The squad has unparalleled depth which is the result of many years planned development.
“We believe he is best placed to take the team to the next level and continue to excite and engage the people of Scotland.”
Townsend is due to name his World Cup training squad later today (Tuesday).
Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are looking no further than crucial Scotland clash
Captain Johnny Sexton insists Ireland are not thinking about anything beyond Scotland as they seek to avoid complacency following previous World Cup failures.
Andy Farrell’s men are within touching distance of the quarter-finals and a likely clash with either hosts France or three-time winners New Zealand.
Yet, despite defeating defending champions South Africa in Paris to register a third consecutive Pool B victory, rugby’s top-ranked nation could still be denied a spot in the knock-out stages by the Scots.
Experienced fly-half Sexton, who has suffered last-eight exits at his previous three World Cups, admits his side cannot get ahead of themselves.
“We are not talking about being champions, we are talking about the next game,” he said on the back of the 13-8 win over the Springboks.
“Now it’s all about Scotland. We’re not thinking about anything beyond that.
“Scotland are an excellent team. I think that they would be frustrated about how they played against South Africa (an 18-3 loss on September 10).
“It’s all geared up towards that game now and making sure that we do what’s required to try and win the pool.
“But we can’t look beyond the next game. This competition will hurt you, that’s the biggest lesson we can take from the last few World Cups.”
Ireland return to Stade de France on October 7 to take on Gregor Townsend’s side after upsetting South Africa.
Head coach Farrell believes the narrow win from a bruising encounter with the reigning champions is ideal preparation for future challenges.
“Let’s be honest, it’s wonderful to win, but there was not much in it between two good sides,” said Farrell.
“I think the best thing about it for us is we get to feel the intensity of a big game within this World Cup and know what that feels like for further down the line.
“How we are able to be a little bit more composed, be a little bit more accurate and play our game a little bit more. It’s invaluable to be able to learn those lessons with a win.
“But what I would say is when you love defending as much as we did within that game, it stands us in good stead as far as our want and our fight for the rest of competition.”
Warren Gatland lauds Wales achievements as they keep ‘punching above our weight’
Warren Gatland has hailed Wales’ ability to keep “punching above our weight” after clinching a place in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
It maintains Gatland’s 100 per record of reaching the last-eight in four World Cup campaigns as Wales head coach.
And the achievement is further underlined by where Wales were just six months ago on and off the pitch.
They finished fifth in the Six Nations, with a solitary win being against Italy, while Welsh professional rugby was engulfed by financial issues and contractual uncertainty for many players.
That scenario almost led to Gatland’s squad going on strike in protest over the situation just days before Wales faced England in Cardiff.
Now, though, they find themselves at the business end of a World Cup, having progressed from Pool C with one game to spare and seemingly on course for a quarter-final clash against Argentina in Marseille on October 14.
“There were a lot of things going on before the Six Nations,” Gatland said, following a record 40-6 victory over Australia that confirmed Wales’ progression to the knockout phase.
“Contract issues and the players getting offered them, and then just understanding the frustrations from them in terms of security, future, families and stuff.
“I probably didn’t realise at the time the impact that had on the coaching staff and probably even myself.
“I had to sit back and let things unfold until after the Six Nations, when you can get a squad together.
“We have been together for four months now. You know you can put the detail, preparation and hard work in that we always pride ourselves on.
“We are such a small nation as a tier one nation in terms of playing numbers, and we are proud that our success has been based on hard work and punching above our weight.
“Everyone has made a lot of sacrifices in the last four months, and the message from me beforehand was ‘you get what you deserve in life’ from putting that hard work and effort in.
“We have been through some pain and tough times. We have pushed some players right to the edge, and they have fronted up.
“We have got a brilliant balance in this group in terms of taking the mickey out of each other and some real banter, which is brilliant.
“But when they are asked to front up and perform at training, they get their heads on and they knuckle down.”
Wales were World Cup semi-finalists in 2011 – the first time for 24 years – and 2019, with that achievement now having an outstanding chance of being repeated.
Among Wales’ many successes in the tournament so far has been co-captain Jac Morgan’s form and leadership, which he highlighted through an immense display against Australia.
It evokes memories of New Zealand in 2011 when a 22-year-old Sam Warburton was handed the captaincy reins and delivered magnificently. At 23, flanker Morgan is so far ticking every box.
Gatland added: “He is still a young man, and I threw him in at the deep end. He has been absolutely outstanding.
“I have a huge amount of admiration for him. He is definitely a player who leads from the front, and he did exactly that (against Australia). It was a brilliant performance from him.”
Scotland must ‘do it the hard way’ to qualify from group but know what is needed
Gregor Townsend admitted Scotland will have to “do it the hard way” if they are to reach the World Cup quarter-finals but the head coach is hoping the renewed clarity of their situation in Pool B can help his team in their quest to progress.
After Ireland’s narrow victory over South Africa on Saturday and the Scots’ bonus-point 45-17 win over Tonga on Sunday, the picture has become slightly clearer for everyone in a lop-sided section containing three of the top five teams in the world rankings.
From Scotland’s perspective, they now know they will have to get a bonus-point win over Romania in Lille on Saturday and then ensure they defeat Ireland in Paris the following weekend with a bonus point or win by more than seven points to deny the Irish a losing bonus.
Townsend is pleased that his team emerged from the past weekend with five points and still with a fighting chance of qualifying.
“It keeps us on track,” he said. “The South Africa-Ireland game could have gone either way, it was a close Test match.
“But the fact South Africa picked up a bonus point means now it’s a straight shoot-out between us and Ireland.
“If South Africa pick five points up against Tonga – which they might do, they might not – that would mean they will likely get to 15 points.
“So we are competing with Ireland to get to 14 points, unless either of us pick up bonus points in our game against them.
“Ireland are already on 14 points, so we have to get to 10 points (by beating Romania on Saturday) to make sure it becomes a straight shoot-out between us and them, and if we were to win that game by more than seven points we get through to the quarter-final. It’s as straightforward as that.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult challenge against the number one team in the world. We’re going to have to do it the hard way to get out of this group but we believe in our players.”
Finn Russell admitted Ireland’s win over the Boks has made things slightly more difficult for Scotland because they will have to beat the Irish by more than seven points – as opposed to simply beating them by any score – but the stand-off does not feel it has changed things significantly for his side.
“Ideally for us South Africa would have won but we know what we need to do now,” he said. “We knew what we had to do against Tonga, and going into the Romania game we know what we need to get to have that final game against Ireland in Paris.
“I don’t think it’s changed too much for us because after (losing to) South Africa, we were always going to have to go and beat Ireland. We knew at the start this was potentially a situation we could be in.”
The Scots scored seven tries against Tonga – all from different players – but Russell feels they will have to be far more clinical going forward, particularly against the Irish.
“Seven different try-scorers is great but I think we left five or six chances out there potentially,” he said.
“It’s great we’re getting balls out wide, the backs scored a few tries, we got a driving maul try which is really pleasing as well but there were times when we got to five metres from the line and we’ve got to do a lot better there.
“It’s good the boys are scoring but I think we need to be a lot better and a lot harder on ourselves in training and in games.
“It doesn’t matter if there’s one guy that scores seven tries or seven individuals, it’s a team effort. But we need to up it. If we want to progress in this tournament we need to be a lot better than that.”
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