Gregor Townsend insisted the 15 players he has selected to face South Africa have “earned the right” to start together as he challenged his burgeoning Scotland team to deliver on the biggest stage of all.
The head coach named a starting line-up on Friday with no surprises as key duo Darcy Graham and Zander Fagerson returned from injury and suspension respectively for the World Cup Pool B opener against the world champions.
Townsend believes the sense of “cohesion” within the team he has picked will stand them in good stead for Sunday’s showdown in the late-summer heat of Marseille.
“It’s been the team that has played (together) in the main,” he said at a press conference at Stade Velodrome on Friday. “The majority of the players have played together all year. A couple of players missed the Six Nations, Rory Darge and Darcy Graham who are back fit and back with us.
“It’s a team that deserves to go out there. They have earned the right to start in such an important fixture because of the way they have played and the way they have trained.
“We have built a lot of cohesion over the last two or three months by training with certain combinations week after week. We’ve seen the benefits of doing that transfer into the warm-up games and now it’s about delivering the most complete game we have done this year.”
Scotland go into the World Cup as dark horses for the Webb Ellis Cup having emerged as best of the rest behind the heavyweight quartet of Ireland, South Africa, France and New Zealand.
Several players in Townsend’s team go into the global showpiece at the top of their game and the head coach is confident they can produce collectively when it matters most.
“It’s the biggest opportunity you’ll get: a World Cup game, playing the world champions,” he said ahead of Sunday’s showdown.
“We believe we’ve been building to our best performance – and I know that’s a continual journey and we’ll say it again as we go towards the Tonga game – but really this is where it’ll count for our players to deliver what they have been delivering in training and what they have been delivering in other games we’ve played this year, and we have every faith they will be able to do that.”
Townsend has no worries about his players’ temperament as they prepare for a huge occasion in front of 67,000 people in the Marseille heat.
“That’s the job for us as coaches, the senior players and the players who have been there before, to be calm and to calm others,” he said. “But there is an expectation that it’s going to be a very emotional and exciting build-up.
“I’m sure the players will feel the sense of adrenaline, nerves and excitement as we get closer to kick-off. But that can be turned into a real positive. It can narrow your focus, but also give you that extra energy boost that you need.”
Scotland trailed in all four of their summer warm-up matches and came back to win three of them, including a stirring 25-21 victory at home to France, while they also went close to pipping Les Bleus in the rematch in Saint-Etienne before eventually succumbing to a 30-27 defeat.
Townsend believes such experiences will give them reason for confidence if they find themselves trailing at any point on Sunday.
“We didn’t want to be 21-3 behind against France but this team have shown they are capable of coming back, whether it’s in Paris (in the Six Nations), or at Murrayfield when a man down, or Saint-Etienne with the crowd and momentum against us.
“It would be nice to be 15 points ahead, but we’ve got to deal with whatever situation is presented at any time in the game.
“We will be tested, no doubt. There will be times when South Africa have dominance, South Africa have points on the board.
“There will be times when we aren’t able to execute things as well as we like and that’s not because it’s the first game of the World Cup, it’s because of the opposition and what they bring with their pressure.
“But we’ve got to find a way to win and that’s what this World Cup is about, finding a way to win.”
The Scots were unable to include either scrum-half George Horne or hooker Ewan Ashman in the 23 after the pair suffered concussion in training.
Stuart McInally, who was cut from the squad last month, has flown out to France as cover until Ashman recovers.
Fraser Brown ‘hugely proud’ of Scotland career as he announces rugby retirement
Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.
Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.
“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.
“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”
At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.
The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.
“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.
“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.
“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”
Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.
England tap into knowledge of Brian Ashton to play entertaining brand of rugby
England have been tapping into the knowledge of veteran attack guru Brian Ashton to achieve their aim of filling Twickenham.
The Red Roses ran in 14 tries in an 88-10 victory over Ireland that places them on the brink of claiming a sixth consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France on Saturday.
A thrilling attacking performance before a 48,778 crowd was born out of the belief that in order to play in front of a full house of Twickenham at next year’s home World Cup, they must play appealing rugby.
And helping them achieve that aim is Ashton, a former England men’s head coach regarded as a visionary in the game whose expertise has been enlisted by Red Roses boss John Mitchell.
“Brian makes us ask questions. ‘If this is the picture, what is the easiest way that you can take the wins?’” said Dow, who ran in a hat-trick against Ireland.
“I do think it is about asking those questions and having Brian Ashton available throughout the week…I absolutely adore the man.
“The way he phrases things almost makes you re-think the philosophy of rugby. I think in the English brand the philosophy is ‘let’s kick to the corner, let’s take the territory’. But is that the philosophy of all rugby? Can we expand that?
“At the end of the day, professional rugby is a business in its own way. We need to be proving to the whole of England that we can play an exciting brand of rugby.”
While England march on by overwhelming the opposition in front of them, Ireland’s blowout highlights the gulf in class in the women’s game and affects the credibility of the Six Nations.
The Red Roses have accumulated 228 points after four rounds and France are the only European team capable of taking the wind out of their sails when the rivals clash in Bordeaux.
“I 100 per cent think teams will catch up and as much as we may be on top now, it is on us to try and work to keep that place and demand more from ourselves,” Dow said.
“Because as much as we’d love the game to grow, we want to keep the gap ourselves and continue to prove that we can be the best.”
John Mitchell: England motivated to fill Twickenham with captivating displays
England ran riot against Ireland with head coach John Mitchell revealing their pivot to an all-action attack is designed to fill Twickenham.
A crowd of 48,778 watched the Red Roses plunder 14 tries in an 88-10 victory that keeps them on course to win a sixth successive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France in a likely Grand Slam decider next weekend.
Unstoppable wing Abby Dow and player of the match Ellie Kildunne completed hat-tricks, but there were fireworks across the field as England delivered on their promise to put on a show.
Their ultimate aim is to run out at next year’s home World Cup in front of a sold-out Twickenham and Mitchell insisted that can only be achieved by captivating audiences with a style of play no longer based on forward dominance.
“The girls presented a performance that went up a gear. We asked that of them during the week and they certainly delivered it,” the Kiwi said.
“We’ve got a drive to fill the stadium on a consistent basis because we want to play here consistently.
“If we can continue to produce performances like that it won’t be too long before we do fill all the seats. From that point of view, it’s only that style of rugby that will bring people to watch us.
“We know we have other strengths as well, but this is a good sign and we’re only in the infancy of it.
“It’s a testament to the girls because they go out and own it and see the rewards from it.”
England have amassed 228 points after four rounds of the Six Nations, conceding only 20, and the lopsided scoreline at Twickenham is an ugly look for the competition.
“I’m sure some people will chat about the competitiveness, but at the end of the day we drive ourselves in the way we prepare and that’s all we can focus on,” Mitchell said.
“We’re not really in a position to judge the competition or its competitiveness. Our standards in the way we prepare have gone up a little bit in terms of level.”
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand admitted his side were left “shell-shocked” by the game’s dominant force.
“Tough day at the office. We came up against the market leaders but we’ll dust ourselves down and come back next week,” he said.
“This was a big game for a youthful group. Could we have predicted a margin like that? Probably not.”
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