Townsend keen to look into woes of Under 20s

SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend admits there needs to be a deeper look at issues facing the Under-20s following their latest heavy defeat.

Kenny Murray’s side went down 55-17 against Georgia on Wednesday to make it 13 consecutive defeats at that level. The young Scots conceded 134 points in three games of their summer series in Italy against the hosts, Wales and Georgia, and their previous match was a 59-5 defeat by Ireland in the Under-20 Six Nations.

Townsend’s son, Christian, scored the opening try during the defeat by Georgia but the bulk of the match was painful viewing for the Scotland head coach.

Townsend said: “We obviously feel for them. We were watching the game on the bus on the way back from training and, when they went 12-0 up, we were excited for them because we know Georgia are a quality side.

“But it has been a tough 18 months for them. Following Covid, we have not done as well at that level, that’s clear. But there are some very good individuals in there, very good performances. We will learn as a group why it hasn’t worked this year and what we need to do better there.

“We have obviously got to look deeper at what we need to be doing at age-group level, academy level, support our players to challenge them and give them better competition. That’s probably the big lesson in all of this.

“And also you have got to look at whether this is a group problem. Our under-18s beat Italy in their Six Nations game, were very close to beating England, only lost by two or three points and had opportunities to win that game.

“At times you get this but it’s also my view that we have got to keep looking at how we get our best young players through and prepare them for these competitions.”

EDINBURGH have recruited Michael Todd as their new defence coach in succession to Calum MacRae, who left last month for Benetton.

Born in Zimbabwe, Todd has been part of the Queensland Reds’ coaching team for nearly a decade, and has been their defence coach for the past two years. He will join up with head coach Mike Blair’s team this month after completing his duties with Australia “A” at the Pacific Nations Cup.