The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
In the loop
through residency this year – wing Duhan van der Merwe, prop Oli Kebble and stand-off Jaco van der Walt.
“I have spoken with Duhan at various points this season and in the last couple of weeks,” Townsend said. “He would have been in the mix for summer tour. That is unlikely to go ahead but we will keep watching how he plays for Edinburgh.
“He is an excellent player, and he has shown this season a different level of play as well. His work off the ball has been excellent and his defence has been up there as well.
“He is quick, he’s strong, he makes a lot of line breaks and tackle breaks and he is a young player who will get better the more he plays.
“Duhan is available now, Oli is October and Jaco is the middle of November, and they are playing very well for their clubs.
“Oli has been a regular in the team at Glasgow and Jaco will be competing hard for a place at 10. They are three players who will add to our depth and could certainly play international rugby.
“We should have more players available whenever we play again. Jonny Gray will be back, Darcy Graham, so hopefully we will have more to select from, whether on their club form or what they did with us in the Six Nations.”
Townsend is in favour of playing behind closed doors for any autumn tests if need be, pointing out that the players will want to play.
“The players’ window of employment is much shorter than for us as coaches, so to give them an opportunity to get back to what they love doing in a safe environment is the right way,” he said.
“If that means no supporters, and that’s the guidance, that’s the downside but we’d all want to get back to playing. There are innovative ways to create atmosphere even in those situations.”
Never one to sit around, Townsend is spending his lockdown connecting with as many coaches from as many sports as he can, having been involved in talks with groups as diverse as Belgium soccer national coach Roberto Martinez, baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays coaching staff and even the Red Arrows air display team.
“It has been a unique opportunity for us to learn as coaches, almost every coach around the world is available to do a Zoom session or skype or whatever,” he said. “The session we had with the Belgium coaches was excellent – Roberto Martinez led that but he had others there as well, so we got the wider learning than just head coach to head coach.
“Last night we were with Blue Jays and their staff – we had about 30 on that call, and the Red Arrows was probably the most interesting – just after they’d had the VE Day flypast.
“Their leader and another member of the crew talked about what they do in training, how they debrief training, and that was fascinating.”