McFarland in the tune with Townsend
Ex-prop’s strong bond with Scotland’s head coach makes them the ideal partnership to take the national team to another level. Stuart Bathgate reports
We’re both driven, extremely hard-working. We’re both, I wouldn’t say grumpy, but demanding
FOR a tall, solidly built former prop, Dan McFarland has become adept at flying under the radar. It would be a mistake to call him a silent partner to Gregor Townsend, but the Scotland assistant coach is at least a softly spoken one.
And yet, no matter how undemonstrative he may be when it comes to explaining his mission to the media, the 45-year-old has certainly made a major impact since he moved to Glasgow Warriors from Connacht just two years ago. So much so that, when Townsend was appointed head coach of the national side last summer, it was no surprise that he should opt to take McFarland with him from Scotstoun to Murrayfield.
In coaching terms, of course, the two have complementary strengths, given that Townsend was a back while McFarland was a forward. But there is more to their partnership than that, as the Englishman explained at the end of the new coaching team’s second week with the squad they will take on Scotland’s tour to Singapore, Australia and Fiji.
“I think it’s a really good balance,” McFarland said when asked about the dynamic between himself and Townsend. “When I moved to Glasgow it was a good move for me, but I’d only have done it if I thought that balance was going to be right. I had a lot of conversations with Gregor, flying backwards and forwards, and spending a lot of time chatting about stuff.
“We’re of a like mind. We’re both driven, extremely hard-working. We’re both … I wouldn’t say grumpy, but demanding. Gregor is extremely demanding: the standards he expects are extremely high, and that’s the kind of environment I want to work in.
“The other main thing is that he loves to learn and that’s a huge thing for me, and is one of the main reasons I wanted to come to Glasgow, to push on and work for somebody who understands that broadening the mind and looking at things outside your own sphere was important. I think that’s good.
“One of the interesting dynamics is that Gregor’s style of play, which is world renowned I’d say, is fast, built on speed, and people immediately think of good backs, fast passing and line-breaks and things like that. But I’m a forwards coach. I love to see big driving mauls and strong scrums.
“The blend that we have I think is a good one. I like the contact work we do and the style of rugby requires us to be world class at contact. If we’re not we can’t play our style of play, so that meshes nicely with what Gregor wants too – even though he was a 10 and probably never hit a ruck in his life.”
One advantage that both men have, along with defence coach Matt Taylor and skills coach Mike Blair, is that they already know half the squad well, having worked with them at the Warriors.
But while the personnel will be familiar, the new national coaching team will not merely adopt the Glasgow style of play wholesale and try to get it to work at Scotland level. At times, the expansive approach will be reminiscent of what worked best for the Warriors, but the coaches also plan innovations.
“There’ll be a bit of both,” McFarland explained. “In terms of what I was doing at Glasgow, there’ll be the same focus on detail and on making sure that everybody understands what their roles are. It’s different at international level because you have less time.
“Not everything will be simple, but it has to be clear. The stuff we’re doing may be reasonably complex, but I’ve got to get it across in a way that is clear to the players so on match day they’re clear on what they’re doing.
“That’s the primary objective as far as that’s concerned, then you’ve got to train up their skills, and we’ll be relying on them doing their work in the clubs.
“There are some excellent coaches in the club sides, so they’ll get really good coaching in those skills and I’ll be able to keep an eye on that and talk to the individuals and talk to the coaches. And we’ll work together to make sure they’re upskilled in the areas they need to be.
“Then the big thing is the mentality. The focus on making sure that as a forward pack we regard ourselves as being on the front foot: that’s how we’ve got to visualise ourselves.
“I’m lucky in that I’m coming in after Humphs [former Scotland assistant Jonathan Humphreys, now with Glasgow] has been working with them and he has that same kind of mentality that I do: the forward pack has got to be seen as something that can stand strong on the pitch.
“At international level that’s all the more important. For the style of rugby that we’re obviously going to be playing we have to have a pack that is going to produce quality ball at a consistent level and also disrupt the opposition.”
McFarland may have been content to stay in the background and leave Townsend to be the public face of the operation, but if and when the new coaching team begin to make an impact at international level he is likely to be thrust into the limelight. After all, you can only fly under the radar for so long before the big guns take notice.