Townsend is wary of gathering storm but needs calm players
● Scotland coach says England have picked side for conditions ● Return of Bradbury for Haining was due to World Cup form
It may not be on the scale of Typhoon Hagibis but a storm is brewing ahead of tomorrow’s Calcutta Cup showdown between Scotland and England at BT Murrayfield.
Four months ago, the super typhoon swept through and left behinwd a perfect day for the Scots’ decisive World Cup pool game against hosts Japan, although it ended up a far from perfect outcome.
Storm Ciara may not carry the same destructive force but there seems no escaping her clutches as the 127th staging of the world’s oldest international trophy is set to be played in a tempest of wind and rain.
“It affected England in picking a 6-2 [six forwards, two backs] bench this morning and that was a surprise to us,” said Townsend. “The wind tends not to be a huge factor at BT Murrayfield. Last year I remember strong winds but when we actually got there it was windy outside but, on the field, it wasn’t too bad.
“It’ll be whether the rain comes down, too. I’ve been looking at the weather forecast every day and it has started to close in, it’s now looking like it’ll be wet and windy around kick-off time.”
Scotland may have held the famous old trophy for two years now but, as ever, England start as heavy odds-on favourites. The conditions may be a levelling factor but Townsendisacoach,ashewas a player, who would prefer a dry ball and track.
Asked if he would like to see a roof at Murrayfield, he smiled and replied: “That would be a great idea. But I don’t think it’s happening anytime soon.”
Townsend has made only one change to the starting XV that impressed at times, battled well but ultimately fell short 19-12 through a combination of poor discipline, misfortune and an inability to finish despite spending a full six minutes in the Irish 22.
Magnus Bradbury missed Dublin due to a minor thigh strain but returns to the No 8 jersey he filled so magnificently in last year’s epic 38-38 meeting between the sides at Twickenham, his storming try proving critical in the fightback surge.
“I thought his performance at Twickenham last year as a No 8, it was the first time he’d played there for us, was outstanding,” said Townsend. “He had two really great carries off the base of the scrum, he had carries from restarts, under pressure, being the first man and gave us go-forward.
“And a great run-in for a try, too. He was maybe 50-50 at the weekend and we knew it would have been a risky one if we played him. It enabled Nick [Haining] to show what he could do at international level. Magnus is fit this week and has trained fully.”
Haining may have been an unknown quantity to many viewers last week but he was one of Scotland’s standouts on the day.
Asked if it was a difficult decision to drop him to the bench, Townsend said: “Yes and no. It was a good debut from Nick but Magnus has played very well for us in the World Cup and at No 8 against England at Twickenham. He’s worked more with the two back-row colleagues in Jamie [Ritchie] and Hamish [Watson]. We trained with Magnus at No 8 for about four or five days leading up to the Ireland game.”
With the hype and mindgames flying around, it is
SCOTLAND V ENGLAND Guinness Six Nations Championship Tomorrow, BT Murrayfield. Kick-off 4.45pm. Live on BBC 1
important on these occasions to ensure the passion doesn’t take away from the precision, something the coach accepts may have happened in that chastening first half at Twickenham last year.
Reflecting on how he dealt with that balance during his Calcutta Cup career, Townsend smiled and said: “I don’t think I did it very well because I lost nine times out of ten against England.
“I used to get too pumped up… It’s important our players are ready for the physical battle but are in control. In control of their discipline first of all but if they have that fire inside of them.”
“It’ll be whether the rain comes down, too. I’ve been looking at the weather forecast every day and it has started to close in”
GREGOR TOWNSEND