Don’t you love it when a plan comes together?

Gilchrist knew stunning try was on its way from seat in stand

THE ability to outfox and bamboozle opponents with moments of wonderful improvisation has become a trademark of Gregor Townsend’s Scotland team.

Those flashes of inspiration when a little bit of jiggery-pokery completely shreds an opposition defence.

They were at it again last weekend against South Africa.

And it was perfectly in keeping with this team’s DNA that Hamish Watson’s try was conjured from nothing.

From a line-out just five metres shy of the Springboks line, BT Murrayfield was ready to unleash a collective cry of ‘heeeave’ to will their men over the whitewash.

What the crowd did not know was that the Scots had the sneakiest of plans up their sleeve.

The home fans were soon roaring their delight as the line-out went up, Stuart McInally threw the ball in short, and Watson waltzed over unchallenged.

Not quite all of those in the stands had been in the dark. A group of spectators — the Scotland replacements and wider non-playing squad — saw it coming a mile off.

Grant Gilchrist was chief among them. The big second-row would have been a key figure in the decision-making process, had he been on the pitch.

As it was, he was one of the thousands cheering the audacity of it all.

It carried with it echoes of Alex Dunbar’s try against Ireland in the 2017 Six Nations.

With a grin on his face that said we should probably just expect the unexpected from Townsend’s side, Gilchrist knew exactly what was on the cards, and revealed the brains behind the operation.

‘With the non-playing guys and the subs, when the ball got kicked out, we were all saying: “This is on”,’ revealed the 28-year-old. ‘We were getting quite excited in the stand.

‘It was an awesome feeling for everyone because we’re each other’s biggest supporters. We are all one as a squad. It was a great feeling for everyone to be involved in that.

‘There are times when (these moves) can be a bit of both (player-led or coach-led). But it was Danny (Wilson, forwards coach) who’d done the homework and seen it was on this time.

‘But I’ve been involved in similar moves in years gone by when the players have spotted something that a coach hasn’t seen.

‘It’s important everyone has a look at stuff and puts opinions forward. It’s then the coaches’ decision what they want to do.

‘The Alex Dunbar one was just a last-minute thing where we decided in training: “What if?” In the team run, we just decided: “If they defend the pod and the guy at the front, what are we going to do? Well, we will hit ours through the middle”. We were like: “Oh right, cool.”

‘Then it happened in the game and it was literally just decided in the team run. Whereas this one (Watson’s) was a bit more planned in advance.

‘On this occasion, it actually worked even better in the match than it did in training. ‘So, like I say, it can be both. But it was definitely credit to Danny on this occasion.’ Watson’s try, like Dunbar’s last year, looked wonderfully off-the-cuff. But there was method in the madness. These things don’t just happen. They require an eagle eye among the players and coaching staff to spot a weakness to exploit in the opposition. Asked if things ever go spectacularly wrong in training, or whether Finn Russell actually plans his often mercurial displays of passing and cross-field kicks, Gilchrist (left) said: ‘Nah, not really. Training time is so cut down that you’ve really got to be putting forward your ideas off the field. ‘When you’re on the field, it really has to be things that you have already decided on beforehand.

‘You only have a certain amount of scope for stuff. It’s always good when it comes off. But you still need to nail the basics because, five metres out, you’re not always going to do a trick play.

‘Most of the time, you’re going to look to drive for the line. That’s the most effective way of scoring.’

Of Russell’s kicking game, Gilchrist added: ‘To be honest, that’s probably something Finn would do on the hoof!’

Gilchrist could be restored to the starting XV for Saturday’s visit of Argentina to Murrayfield, as Townsend seeks to further explore his second-row options.

Townsend has alternated between the quartet of Jonny Gray, Ben Toolis, Sam Skinner and Gilchrist so far this autumn.

Gray and Toolis started in the defeats to Wales and the Springboks, with Skinner partnering Gilchrist in the locks in the crushing victory over Fiji.

With the team set to be named this morning, Gilchrist is eager to grasp whatever chance comes his way, and prove that he can provide a key ingredient in Townsend’s second row.

Skinner could hold an advantage given that his versatility allows him to switch to the back row, as he did against South Africa.

Gilchrist, though, has no problems with identifying himself as a specialist lock.

‘I’ve only moved to six once in my whole career, so I’d call myself an out-and-out lock,’ he added. ‘It’s great that other guys can move between the two, but I’ll just be the best lock I can be. I don’t think six is going to be an option for me.

‘If you’re playing your best rugby, you’ll be selected on your merits. It’s not something I worry about.’

Ahead of the visit of a revitalised Pumas side, who have beaten Australia and South Africa since the Scots thumped them 44-15 in Resistencia in June, Gilchrist is expecting a stern examination.

He added: ‘The game in the summer wasn’t the type of game we expected. I think it was just an off day for Argentina.

‘They haven’t changed drastically in their style of play, but their performances across the board have been stronger and stronger.

‘It’s the same team, but they’ve definitely picked up their levels and got some good results.’