Townsend vows his Scots will be ready, willing and able for England
Gregor Townsend has played down fears Scotland are going into their Six Nations opener undercooked.
His team kicks off their campaign in style with a Calcutta Cup clash at the Auld Enemy’s HQ in two weeks.
But while Scotland’s pro teams have seen PRO14 and European fixtures fall foul of Covid, Townsend insists Twickenham will be a level playing field. “It’s not so much a concern where England are concerned,” says the head coach.
“A number of English clubs have had games called off, and their Saracens players have hardly played at all. “England will be in a similar boat to us. Some players will have played a lot of games but some haven’t played any. “France are the team who have had the most games, between the Autumn Nations Cup and not having a huge amount of Top 14 games called off. Some of their players were also released back and played for their clubs in December.
“So it was really good for us that Edinburgh and Glasgow played last weekend. It was an intense game, a really good workout for our players.
“We feel that where the players were in that game, the majority of them looked in great condition.” Townsend, pictured right, adds: “If we’d been told going into the Six Nations some of our players had only played two games in two months, we’d have thought that’s not great preparation.
“But then you look round at other nations and some players haven’t played any games so it’s going to be interesting how it develops. “You might get players who are fresher, who have been able to do real conditioning work and they’re flying come Six Nations time. Or they might be rusty. “Every country has the same challenge, which is time. You’re going to get two weeks with your team ahead of the first game. “Fortunately, because we had the ANC, we had a long time with our players, and it only finished in December so there’s not been a huge gap between then and now.
“So it should be relatively easy to get our players back up to speed and back into the way we do things.
“But there are certainly more challenges around the environment and protocols and tests and all the rest of it that we’ll have to adapt to and overcome, because that’s going to be a factor in how well we perform.” Another challenge is how to replace injured players. For example, Townsend has selected just two scrum-halves in Ali Price and Scott Steele, though Glasgow youngster Jamie Dobie has been invited to train with the squad.
He says: “The practicalities now of getting players back and moving between environments have been a factor in our discussions which has never been the case before.
“I think logistically it’s going to be really difficult for us to bring a player back from down south with the lack of flights now if it was the morning of a game or the day before.
“At 9, Exeter’s Sam Hidalgoclyne is available if we need to call on him. He was in our squad in the ANC but he’s one we made a decision on regarding coming in and out of camps.
“It may be we’d have to look at someone else who’s based in Scotland. Jamie would be one but
Henry Pyrgos is an experienced player who could do that.”
One player guaranteed to get game time is Glasgow hooker George Turner, neck injuries having ruled out first picks Fraser Brown and Stuart Mcinally.
“It’s a great opportunity,” nods Townsend.
“George has got some great strengths. His ball-carrying and his tackling are standout areas of his game.
“His set-piece is an area he’s improved in the last couple of years and he’s obviously favourite to start for us now, so he can prepare for the Six Nations knowing he’s going to play a big role.”