Townsend delight as France win eases Scotland selection headache
Coach Gregor Townsend admitted that Scotland’s gutsy 17-14 win over France on Saturday had almost certainly settled some of the remaining selection issues ahead of the announcement of his 31-man World Cup squad next Tuesday.
There are injury issues to consider, with Tommy Seymour, Blade Thomson and Sam Skinner all now unavailable for the game in Georgia, but the stock of some players has risen enormously.
One of those is centre Chris Harris, who was widely considered a fringe candidate before Saturday. However, his defensive solidity and well-taken try against France have pushed him one step closer to a place on the plane, despite five other strong candidates for the four centre places in the squad.
Townsend could not hide his delight at Harris’s performance. “It’s great just to see someone get out there and get a reward for the hard work he’s put in,” he said.
“He is an outstanding defensive player who’s worked really hard to improve his attacking. His passing, his re-setting and his decisions have been very good and he gives 100 per cent every time he plays.”
With Peter Horne’s performance blighted by throwing an early interception pass for the first try, Harris knows he is now genuinely in the mix. It is, he says, the culmination of the past two seasons since he threw his lot in with Scotland.
“I know what I have to do to get a ticket to Japan and that one performance may not be enough,” he said.
“This has been my goal and my dream.”
Townsend had originally envisaged using the two games against Georgia to try to establish combinations that he was expecting to take to Japan. However in some positions, there will still be a lot to play for in Tblisi as Scotland become the first tier-one nation to play a capped international in Georgia. Expect Rory Hutchinson, who has yet to start a game for Scotland, and Sam Johnson, who has been injured for the previous two warm-up Tests, to start if both available. “We picked two balanced teams [against France] and now we’re going to give opportunities to players who deserve them or who are coming back from injury,” said Townsend.
With just over a week until the squad is announced, expect Scottish fireworks in Georgia.
Scores
Scotland France Referee