Gregor Townsend dismisses French criticism after Murrayfield dressing room dressing down from Fabien Galthie
Gregor Townsend has hit back at claims from France head coach Fabien Galthie that the facilities at Murrayfield are not up to scratch.
Scotland will resume their Six Nations campaign on Saturday when they take on Galthie’s side at the national stadium, with Les Bleus on a mission to win the Grand Slam.
Townsend’s men also remain in the hunt to win the championship and know that they need to beat France in order to stand a chance against Ireland in Dublin on the final weekend.
But Galthie has taken a swipe at the standard of the away changing room at Murrayfield, branding it ‘the smallest in the world’.
He also claimed that France had asked to use a nearby room normally reserved for the media and press conferences, only to see that request turned down by Scottish Rugby chiefs.
‘You should know that the changing room is, in my opinion, the smallest in the world,’ said Galthie. ‘We change in the corridors, let’s be honest.
‘We regularly ask them to give us the next room, which is available and is normally the other part of the changing room.
France head coach Fabien Galthie has hits out at the facilities at Murrayfield
Galthie has insisted that the dressing room for the away team is too small… and that Scottish Rugby refused to give them more space
‘Well, we don’t get it. So we continue to change in the corridor for an international match. The referee’s changing room is bigger.
‘So it sets the tone, and you know what you’re getting into as soon as you arrive at the stadium.’
It has turned into a bizarre row on the eve of such a big match. Townsend insisted that no other visiting team has complained about the away dressing room in the past.
But that’s not strictly true, with some away teams in the past bemoaning a huge pillar that stands right in the middle of the room.
In any case, Townsend dismissed those claims from Galthie, with the Scotland head coach firing back: ‘I think it’s the first time the opposition have complained about our away changing room publicly.
‘It’s obviously the changing room Edinburgh use week in, week out. It’s a changing room every away team have used over the last 20 years.
‘France have got a huge staff, which I think is part of the issue. But it’s not really my job.
‘You’re asking me questions about things that are getting organised to accommodate their numbers. If it sets the tone, it’s interesting.
‘I don’t think players are too worried about that. I’ve been to a few changing rooms.
‘I’ll not mention many, but you know the ones that are very small. And it doesn’t really bother the players.
‘Apparently that was the only alternative, that they get you a room. Apparently the media have got more power than French rugby…’
France will arrive at Murrayfield knowing that a bonus-point win would be enough to secure the title.
But Townsend insists his team will be going out all guns blazing to try and upset the odds and take their own challenge into the final weekend.
‘Is it possible to win our next two games? Yes,’ said Townsend. ‘I believe in the group. Any game we go into I believe we can beat our opposition.
‘France will bring a lot of fans with them, they always do, but the atmosphere will be different than the England game.
‘France play an open style of rugby. It’s going to be a dry day I believe. We know we have to be up there at 9 out of 10 level to beat these top teams.’
Townsend has made five changes to the starting line-up from the team who beat Wales a fortnight ago, the most notable of which sees Jack Dempsey return in the back row.
Dempsey suffered a bicep injury in the win over England and the initial prognosis was that he would miss the rest of the championship.
But he has come back well ahead of schedule, with Townsend saying: ‘It’s unexpected, I have to say.
‘A couple of weeks ago we thought those three injuries we picked up in the England game [Jamie Ritchie and Jamie Dobie], none of them would be back for rest of the championship.
‘There was always a grey area around Jack. He didn’t require surgery and he wanted a second opinion. This type of injury you can come back from it.
‘He pushed himself really hard with Glasgow last week, came into our camp on Wednesday and Thursday. We trained against the under-20s on Thursday.
‘It wasn’t meant to be a full contact session and he turned it into a full contact session. That gave us confidence and obviously gave him a lot of confidence.’
