So, what is Gregor Townsend REALLY like behind the serious image? Daily Mail Sport presents the inside story on the Scotland head coach, and the sides to his personality that fans don’t get to see
Ready to have another crack at the Six Nations, Gregor Townsend has once again had to face questions over his future as Scotland head coach.
The build-up to the championship has seen Townsend quizzed about potentially taking charge of Newcastle Red Bulls once his Scotland contract expires after next year’s World Cup.
He takes his team to face Italy in Rome today for what will be his ninth Six Nations campaign at the helm.
With the Newcastle links refusing to go away, could this even be his farewell? What are we to make of his Scotland tenure overall? And what have been the highs and lows?
Here, ANDY NICOL and JASON WHITE, two former Scotland captains, take a deep dive inside the mind of Gregor Townsend and tell Daily Mail Sport about their experiences with him on and off the field.
Gregor Townsend kicks off another Six Nations with Scotland against Italy this weekend
TOWNSEND THE PLAYER AND TEAM-MATE
Andy Nicol: I have known Gregor Townsend for a long, long time. Our paths first crossed 37 years ago when we were both coming through in the Scottish schools’ system.
I was injured for this particular game, but Rob Moffat, who was the coach of the South Schools at that time and went on to coach a lot of us at international level, told me there was a skinny little kid from Gala playing at 10 who was going to be something special. It was, of course, a young Gregor Townsend. He scored two tries that day and we soon struck up a long-standing friendship.
We played in the first ever World Cup Sevens in 1993, which was in Scotland. We went on a world tour to prepare for that – Australia, Fiji and Hong Kong. There was me, Gregor, Doddie Weir, Carl Hogg – a great group of friends.
I won my first Scotland cap in 1992, with Gregor making his debut the following year. He was a joy to play with, instinctive and mercurial. As a partnership at scrum-half and stand-off, I found it easy to play with him. He was a world-class player who was pivotal in a victorious British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1997, before scoring a try in every game as Scotland won the Five Nations two years later. He was fearless. The bigger the challenge in front of him, the more he raised his game. He was a genius on the field at times.
Jason White: Gregor Townsend was up there among the very best players in world rugby when I was coming through as a youngster. He was well ahead of his time and, looking back now, I think he was maybe even slightly under-appreciated in terms of just how good he was in his prime.
Scotland head coach Townsend has had to answer some awkward questions over his future
Gregor Townsend was among the best players in the world in his prime with Scotland
Townsend was described by Andy Nicol as ‘a joy to play with, instinctive and mercurial’
On his day, he was as good as anyone. How many other players can say they’ve had a pass or a special move named after them? But he had that with the Toony Flip.
He was there when I made my debut against England in 2000. He was good with the younger players and gave us a lot of confidence.
He then finished up three years later, but his career was probably cut short prematurely, if I’m honest. I think Scotland and Matt Williams shut the door on him too soon. He was only 30 years old at that point. He could easily have played for another two or three years at the very least, maybe even until the next World Cup in 2007 when he would have been 34. He had a lot more still to give.
TOWNSEND THE COACH
AN: One thing is for sure, he’s not afraid to make big decisions. You only have to look at his team selection for this weekend’s game against Italy. He’s dropped Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham and Blair Kinghorn. Those are three players who have lit it up for Scotland in the Six Nations at times over the past few years.
You also look at the way Townsend stood his ground with Finn Russell a few years ago. There was obviously an internal dispute between them both and Townsend eventually dropped him. Thankfully, their relationship seems to be in a much better place now.
Without question, Townsend sees a lot of himself in Finn. But, he would openly admit, Finn has become an even better player than he was. Russell’s kicking from hand, in particular, is on another level.
Townsend challenges his players technically and mentally, just as Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer did with him. He’s mentally very strong, he doesn’t get too high when things are going well, and nor does he get too low in the bad times. He embraces pressure and actually enjoys it.
Townsend has impressed as a coach but his Scotland team have lacked consistency
Townsend’s serious image does not always equate with how he was perceived in his playing days
Townsend has had to adapt to being the good cop and bad cop during his coaching career
I don’t think anyone can deny he has improved Scotland’s attacking identity and made us a more exciting team to watch. The part that still eludes us at times is to marry that to a real hard edge that gets us over the line in big games. That’s the part of the jigsaw that’s still missing.
JW: I remember the World Cup in 2019. Some of the players gave the impression and gave feedback that things were perhaps just a bit too rigid and strict. I found that really interesting at the time because it was totally at odds with the Gregor Townsend I knew as a player. Back then, he was so laid back and loved a laugh and a joke.
That’s probably something he’s had to adjust to more in his coaching career – when to be good cop and when to be bad cop. It definitely became a big factor in the breakdown of his relationship with Finn Russell a few years ago. They are so similar, not only as players, but as characters as well.
As a coach, Townsend has been a visionary. On his watch, Scotland have played some thrilling rugby and we score far more tries nowadays than we ever used to. But, if the time comes when he leaves his position with Scotland without ever having mounted a serious challenge for a Six Nations title, that would surely leave him feeling slightly unfulfilled.
He was a winner as a player. He won a Lions series in South Africa and led Scotland to a Five Nations. He won a league title with Glasgow Warriors. You can bet your bottom dollar he’s still hell-bent on winning something with Scotland. He has enjoyed an unprecedented level of dominance over England in the Calcutta Cup. No one can ever take that away from him.
TOWNSEND THE MAN
AN: I’m lucky that I’ve known him for so long. We’ve always maintained a strong friendship, our wives are also friends, and we’ve shared some great memories together.
Away from rugby, he has a very varied range of interests and hobbies. For instance, I’m not sure many people will know that Townsend is hugely passionate about American politics. Both my daughters did history and politics at university and, any time Townsend has been round, he will be quizzing them about all kind of things. He is very switched on and knowledgable about politics.
Townsend, shown doing his bit for Comic Relief with Bryan Redpath, was something of a practical joker in his playing days
Townsend and Finn Russell had a very public falling out, but the head coach will have seen a lot of himself in the player
The last thing Townsend needed was for Newcastle Red Bulls story to be raised again ahead of Six Nations
He worked in banking many years ago when the game was still semi-pro, maybe looking towards a career after rugby.
When he was younger, I think people maybe thought he was a bit aloof, maybe even a bit of a nutter at times. But he’s highly intelligent. He’s also great company socially.
Back in the summer of 1998, when Scotland were playing in the football World Cup in France, we were over there on Gregor’s stag do. We flew from Edinburgh to Luton, then flew to Nice, then got a train to Lyon, then made our way to Saint Etienne for the Morocco game. It was planes, trains and automobiles. We literally arrived in the stadium about two minutes before kick-off as the anthems were playing. We were full of beans at that point, high-fiving each other thinking we’re going to win the World Cup … only to end up getting hammered 3-0 by Morocco!
JW: Going back to when I was a young player breaking through with Scotland, some of my main memories of Gregor would be about how much of a joker he was around the camp. He loved some high jinks and nonsense. Gary Armstrong was often his partner in crime. Doddie Weir, Rob Wainwright and Glenn Metcalfe, too. They would always be up to mischief.
Dougie Morgan was the team manager at the time and I remember they put clingfilm over the toilet in Dougie’s hotel room so his pee splashed all over the place. These days, that kind of thing would probably end up with a complaint being made to HR.
Different times back then. It was just a laugh. People maybe have a view of Gregor as being super-serious as a coach. But he was one of the best practical jokers I came across as a player.
THE FUTURE
AN: I’ll be totally honest, I don’t actually have a huge issue with the Newcastle and Red Bull thing. For me, I think it has been slightly overblown and exaggerated. It’s very common in sport and business for people to have their next move lined up.
Listen, nothing is confirmed yet, but we can all make our own assumptions on what his next move will be. Will this situation somehow lessen Gregor’s desire to do well with Scotland and achieve success? No, absolutely not. I have no doubt whatsoever he is still absolutely committed to delivering success with Scotland.
Gregor Townsend in his heyday as a player with Alan Tait for the Scotland national side
Townsend is under pressure in Six Nations after his team’s poor autumn campaign
The best way for Townsend to shut out criticism is to win matches during this year’s championship
He won’t enjoy the fact it’s all reared its head again this week. But the best way to shut down the noise is to win matches – and that starts in Rome this weekend. Townsend will have been devastated by the results back in the autumn and the nature of how things unfolded. I genuinely do believe this is the best squad of players he’s ever had. It’s now on him to deliver results.
JW: The last thing Townsend or Scotland needed was for the Newcastle thing to become such a big issue again. On the eve of a Six Nations starting, it’s just not what you need. It’s another layer of noise and distraction.
I don’t think the players will necessarily be bothered by it. But you can guarantee what the English journalists will be asking Townsend about in the build-up to next week’s Calcutta Cup clash at Murrayfield.
Is this all an attempt to destabilise Scotland? No, not for me. The story is out there and it has kind of become a badly-kept secret about what his next job will be. I would be astonished if he wasn’t in charge of Newcastle in 18 months’ time or whatever after the World Cup. The only way you stop the noise is by winning games.
