Gregor Townsend is adamant Scotland are equipped to go toe-to-toe with any side they encounter at the upcoming World Cup after giving formidable France another fright on Saturday.
The Scots lost 30-27 to Les Bleus in front of a partisan home support in stifling Saint-Etienne heat, a week after they defeated Fabien Galthie’s side 25-21 at Murrayfield.
Both of those warm-up matches involved rousing fightbacks from Townsend’s team, as was also the case in their Six Nations meeting in Paris in February when the visitors recovered from 19-0 down to close within four points of their hosts before a late French try secured a 32-21 win.
Given France are ranked second in the world and joint-favourites alongside New Zealand to win the tournament on home soil this autumn, the way Scotland have competed against Les Bleus this year has enhanced their head coach’s belief that his team are ready to vie for qualification from a heavyweight World Cup pool that also includes world champions South Africa and the world’s top-ranked side, Ireland.
“We’re fit enough, we’ve got the game and we’ve got the players to take on any team we come up against, and this was a preparation for what is likely to happen in the World Cup: noisy atmospheres, powerful forwards, especially when we play South Africa, and hot conditions,” said Townsend.
“Our players thrived in that environment. There were elements where we can improve and that will come, and it has come because we’ve seen improvement right throughout the season.
“Our belief has been shaken at times in games, but against France the belief was there. Whether it was as individuals or collectively, we knew we were coming back.
“It is a big disappointment that we didn’t get anything out of that game whether it is a draw or a win.
“We know if that was a World Cup match we’d be sitting here absolutely gutted, but it is a build-up to the World Cup so there are lots of positives out of that performance.”
Scotland made a strong start to lead 10-6 at the half-hour mark and then staged a stunning fightback from 27-10 down to level the match at 27-27 before Thomas Ramos – who kicked 15 of France’s points – sealed a narrow win with a late penalty.
On a night when the visitors outscored their hosts by four tries to three, Scotland were effectively left to rue a 29th minute yellow card for Ali Price and a disastrous start to the second half as the French ran in two tries within four minutes of the restart.
“That’s one way to look at it,” said Townsend when asked how he can eliminate such costly phases of drop-off from Scotland. “The other way to look at it is these top teams are going to have their moments and they are going to score points.
“A lot of what happened in that five minutes after half-time was down to our errors, we were unable to gather a pass from the kick off and gave France some dominance in our 22.
“We’ll look at all the game. I think we could have done more in the first 15-20 minutes when we were playing so well. There was some opportunities there that we could have taken with a bit more ambition and accuracy.
“The period when we were a man down was really good defensively, but I feel we could have done better when we had ball. And the final quarter when we came back, there is maybe not much to improve there because there was some outstanding play, but it would have been nice to have a chance with that line-out at the end and there was that scrum where France won the penalty.
“So there is always areas to improve, but I am so proud of not just the effort but that resilience and collective belief the players have built over the last few weeks and last few months.
“This team will not be beaten. We’ll keep going and we’re a very dangerous team to play against, and we believe the more time we spend together the more accurate we’ll get.”
Townsend feels spoiled for choice as he prepares to trim his 37-man training squad to 33 for the World Cup, with the announcement to be made this Wednesday.
The head coach was encouraged that he was able to make six changes to the starting XV from the Murrayfield victory over the French and still send out a team strong enough to challenge Les Bleus on their own patch.
The strength in depth at Townsend’s disposal was highlighted by the fact Kyle Steyn, who is generally a substitute when fellow wings Darcy Graham and Duhan Van Der Merwe are fit, chipped in with two of the Scots’ tries. The others came from Van Der Merwe and Rory Darge.
“The bench is worth commenting on,” said Townsend. “The depth we have in our squad means we can mix things up at times, rest players or bring players in because of form or because they are suited to a certain game, Kyle Steyn being a good example.
“In the last three games now the bench has made a real change in our energy, helped take the game to the opposition, so it is encouraging that the 23 is being utilised and helping us play better at the end of games, and the final quarter is probably the most important time in a game to play well.
“There will be a difficult selection coming up with the squad, but also when we have to pick our 23-man squad game to game.”
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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