THE TALENTED MR TOWNSEND
A nation expects as Gregor prepares for next chapter in his rugby success story
SOME years ago, Gregor Townsend sat down to start writing a book. It was to be a definitive history of the game of rugby from its early days, through the amateur years, to the world of the professional.
This labour of love was to be called The More Beautiful Game and it was to be a substantial undertaking. Just as Townsend busied himself with the task at hand, however, his own coaching career got in the way.
‘I started it but had to put it on the back-burner because I was too busy coaching,’ said Townsend, who continues to be tickled by the fact that details of the book remain on Amazon, three years on from its never-met publication date.
Townsend’s rugby opus is most likely the only thing to date that he hasn’t finished or, more pertinently, not been successful at involving rugby.
Yet even having the desire to catalogue the history of the game he loves should come as no great surprise to anybody who knows Gregor Peter John Townsend MBE.
For one, he is a real student of the game who has lived and breathed rugby all his life. The legendary American golfer Ben Crenshaw is famed for his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport with which he made his name. Townsend is his rugby equivalent.
So how has this rugby fanatic managed to get the top job in Scotland at the relatively young age of 43 after just four years in charge of Glasgow Warriors?
Much of it is down to his open mind, positive personality and a total determination to succeed.
Don’t be fooled by his quick smile and outward, calm personality. Cross him and he will let you know. Also, listen to him bellowing occasionally at the referee from the stands at Scotstoun and you will learn how passionately he wants his team to win.
That iron fist in a velvet glove is something he has had to perfect since his first difficult steps into coaching.
His appointment as Scotland backs coach under Frank Hadden, despite having no real coaching experience, was met with shock. The fact that Scotland could not buy a try in his early days in the role put him under severe pressure.
Yet, throughout his spell with the national team, he remained positive in mind and manner. That steely determination was what also got him through the early days at Glasgow Warriors when he was controversially brought in to replace Sean Lineen.
Compelled to sit beside the man he was replacing in front of a hostile Press when he was appointed head coach was a tough moment for Townsend, and one he has never forgotten.
He knew only immediate success was needed to silence his critics and he delivered, taking Glasgow Warriors into four straight Pro12 play-offs, winning the title in 2015.
He also surrounded himself with other coaches he trusted, the most significant being Matt Taylor, who has been with him ever since he walked through the door at Scotstoun.
The influence of Taylor, who played with Townsend at the Border Reivers, can not be underestimated and when he takes over as Scotland head coach Taylor is sure to be his right-hand man.
Townsend is also a man that his players — especially the more flamboyant ones like Stuart Hogg — want to play for. Speak to Hogg and he will tell you how the Warriors head coach tells him to ‘give it a go’ whenever he gets the ball deep in his own half.
Given Townsend was a similar maverick in his own playing days, perhaps such an approach is no surprise.
‘Of course he doesn’t want me running the ball all the time but knowing he wants me to take a chance and give it a go gives me confidence to try things,’ said Hogg. ‘Not every coach is maybe like that but Gregor wants us to attack and try to win games. It is exciting to play in and I like to think exciting to watch.’
Recognising Scotland will play an exciting brand of rugby under Townsend was surely in SRU chief executive Mark Dodson’s mind when he recommended to his board that the Warriors head coach replace Cotter next summer.
Despite Cotter’s team producing some decent results there was disquiet that even in victory — as with the two Test series wins in Japan — the rugby was not pleasing on the eye.
Dodson (right) felt having a young Scottish coach who preached attacking rugby was the way forward for the national team. ‘The market for outstanding coaches in the world has changed and the reason we are going so early is to make sure that we are able to secure the talents of Gregor — and make sure there is a transition in place that benefits the Scotland team as a whole,’ said Dodson. ‘He is an outstanding coach and is in demand all over the world. ‘He is the first coach of his generation that has the ability to become Scotland head coach. He has been nurtured here in Scottish rugby over the past five years. He has had success at Glasgow, winning the Pro12 and creating a highly competitive team. We felt this was the time for him to join us between World Cup cycles and take us to Japan. ‘I expect the Scotland team to get stronger every year and build on the foundations that Vern has put in here and the team will get stronger and stronger.’
Certainly there will be no rest for Townsend from now until his contract ends in 2020. He will continue to look at new ideas before he takes over as Scotland head coach. He has an inquisitive mind and a thirst for knowledge.
He may get them from the likes of former Scotland and British Lions coach Jim Telfer from private meetings over a cup of coffee in the Borders. Or from going over the notes he made from joining the Barcelona coaching staff on a visit to the Nou Camp two years ago to study how they handled their youth players.
He is also never too far away from a sporting book. Pep Confidential, which chronicled Pep Guardiola’s time at Bayern Munich, is among his favourites — a guide into the life of a head coach. Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About the Business of Life gave him a true insight into how the greatest international team in the world go about their business. That is also one of Cotter’s favourites. Townsend is in every way a modern-day coach, open to ideas from other sports and other walks of life such as successful businessman Sir Bill Gammell, who employed him at his charity The Winning Foundation after he retired from rugby in 2007. All will be used as motivation when he starts a job it seemed he was destined to take on. It is now up to him to put all his ideas into practise. The book will have to wait.
He is a student of the game who has lived and breathed rugby all his life