Townsend is balance right Aiming to get the for Twickenham
It is one of the hardest things in professional sport – playing with passion but still keeping a cool head.
And it is all the harder when you are playing in a game between Scotland and England, with all the emotion and history that goes into that fixture.
There is a delicate balance to be struck, and it is something that Gregor Townsend admits he was unable to do as a young player in international rugby’s oldest fixture.
The Scotland coach had the passion, all right. Born and bred a Borderer, he did not need any extra motivation before a game against the Auld Enemy.
But staying calm was another matter, as the whole mythology of the Calcutta Cup became overwhelming.
“I drew on it too much when I was growing up,” admitted Townsend, who takes his team to Twickenham on Saturday for the opening round of the 2021 Six Nations.
“I was playing age- group rugby at the time of the 1990 Grand Slam.
“When I came up against England at schoolboy level – and then played for Scotland at a young age – I put too much emotion into my performances.
“We know the importance of the fixture for our people – the historic importance, the joy it brings when we beat England.
“That’s there in the background. But from a coaching perspective, it’s about getting a sense of where the players are.”
That historic importance is there this year.
It is the 150th anniversary of the first meeting between the two countries – not to mention the 50th anniversary of a famous win for Scotland at Twickenham.
That result – a 16-15 win at Twickenham – became all the more special when it was followed up by a home victory, 26-6, just a week later in a match specially arranged to commemorate the centenary.
Townsend is sure that his players will be up for the game.
Rather than trying to stoke their emotions as kick- off approaches, he sees his job as ensuring they are in the right state to make the most of their talent.
“If they’re ready throughout their preparation, then it doesn’t need much more focus on the emotional side,” he said.
“If we feel they don’t understand the importance of the game, we can add that.
“But I don’t see that with this group. The energy they’re bringing at training, the fact we’ve got so many quality players now competing for positions in the team . . .
“It’s about allowing them to go out and express themselves and learn, if you’re in the game, how to win.”
Learning not to fall too far behind early on was one key lesson for Scotland on their last two visits to Twickenham, as captain Stuart Hogg recalled.
“The last couple of times we’ve been down there, we’ve conceded two or three tries very early,” the full-back said.
“And as soon as that happens, the game plan goes out the window and you’re chasing the game.”
That chase proved to be a hopeless cause back in 2017, when England were in charge from Fraser Brown’s second-minute sin-binning and strolled to a 61-21 win.
And it looked like a hopeless cause in 2019 too, when the home side were 31- 7 up and cruising at half-time.
But then came a famous fightback. True, the game ended up a 38-38 draw when, for a moment,, Scotland looked like winning at the ground for the first time since 1983.
It was, however, a game that inspires the players to this day, including Hogg, who had to sit it out because of injury.
“I was watching it back in Hawick,” he recalled. “It was my daughter’s second birthday party so we had a few people round.
“It was a weird one, a very strange game of rugby.
“I knew the way we were trying to play, I knew what we were trying to do, but unfortunately nothing seemed to go our way in the first half.
“The character of the squad in that second half, and the ability we showed we have as rugby players, was just incredible to watch.
“We know what we’re capable of doing, and now it’s all about getting as close to an 80- minute performance as we possibly can.”