Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend assured Jamie Ritchie he still had a part to play in the Six Nations after the recently-deposed captain was omitted from the 23-man squad for Saturday’s Murrayfield showdown with France.
The 27-year-old Edinburgh flanker was informed last month that he would not be continuing as skipper due to no longer being guaranteed a place in the back-row amid intense competition for places, with Rory Darge and Finn Russell taking over as co-captains.
Ritchie started last weekend’s 27-26 victory away to Wales but he is the only player to have dropped out of the team for this weekend’s match, apart from Luke Crosbie and Richie Gray, who both sustained tournament-ending injuries in Cardiff.
Glasgow back-row duo Jack Dempsey and Darge – fit again after six weeks out with a knee injury – replace Edinburgh pair Crosbie and Ritchie, with Grant Gilchrist stepping in for fellow lock Gray. Saracens back-row Andy Christie has got the nod to be the substitute back-row option.
Asked to clarify that Ritchie was not absent due to injury, Townsend said on Thursday: “No, just selection.
“Once we knew Luke was going to be ruled out and Rory was available we had a good look at the back-row and what the best blend would be and we’ve gone with a Glasgow back-row (of Matt Fagerson, Darge and Dempsey).
“The cohesion they have, knowing each other’s games and most importantly the blend they have. Rory’s an out-and-out seven who can carry the ball well – he’s got an all-round game – but we feel the carrying strengths of Matt and Jack give us a better mix this week.
“Andy was close to starting and also close to starting last week. He’s been in really good form but we feel, off the bench, he can cover all three positions and add to our carrying.”
When it was put to him that Ritchie had endured a pretty spectacular fall from grace after going from World Cup captain just six months ago to not making the 23, Townsend pointed out: “He was vice-captain last week and part of a very good performance in those first 45 minutes.
“He helped Finn with his leadership, really helped the team in the week and then played well.
“I felt he wasn’t able to get his strengths out because of the way the game was being refereed. Wales managed to get a number of penalties in the tackle area, we weren’t getting any.
“I’m sure Jamie would have had a bigger influence if the game had been refereed differently.
“It’s really just about the blend this week. Jamie responded outstandingly well as a person and team-mate but also in the way he’s trained and played in the last couple of games. He’ll be in the mix again for the game against England.”
Scotland and France met in three dramatic encounters last year. The Scots have won five of their last seven Murrayfield meetings with Les Bleus.
Townsend is expecting a response from the French following their 38-17 defeat at home to Ireland last weekend.
“We know them as well as any team we’ll come up against,” he said. “This will be the fourth game in a year.
“We’ve had some cracking games with them in the last 12 months and we’ll have to be at our best level physically, in defence and in the contact area, because they have a lot of jackalers in their team.
“They were up against a really good Irish team and they were down a man for the majority of the game.
“From the French perspective, they know they didn’t play their best rugby so I would imagine we’ll get a reaction from that.
“They came back at one stage – even with 14 on the field – but we know that with 15 on the field they are a quality team, still a top-three, top-four team in the world.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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