SIX OF THE BEST
Townsend warns of Championship battle
GREGOR TOWNSEND has warned his Scotland side that next year’s Six Nations could be one of the toughest they have ever faced.
The Scots rounded off their November Test series with an ugly 14-9 win over Argentina at BT Murrayfield on Saturday, taking their record for the four-game stretch to two wins and two losses.
With Ireland knocking off the All Blacks the only headline win in a month of strong results for Europe’s leading sides, Townsend sees genuine evidence of rising standards across the board.
As he prepares to lead the Scots into a Championship that will see them play Italy, the Irish and Wales at home, as well as trips to Twickenham and Stade de France, he declared: ‘Yes, I think the Six Nations will be tougher next year.
‘When we were ranked sixth in the world, just a couple of
weeks ago, four of the top six teams in the world were in the Six Nations. ‘That has never happened in the history of the game, that the best teams according to the rankings were from the northern hemisphere. So that makes the Six Nations much tougher. ‘Wales are playing some great rugby just now, on a fantastic run, third in the world. ‘England just put 30 points on Australia. And you’ve got Ireland beating New Zealand. That’s how competitive it is. ‘France probably would have beaten South Africa, having been leading with 20 seconds to go. So they will become a force. ‘And you’ve got our first opponents, Italy. We know how tough they were when we played them last year.’ Asked if the rise in standard of European rugby was a backlash to the last World Cup, when all four semi-finalists hailed from the southern hemisphere, Townsend said: ‘I would hope so. I think the depth of player at each country has got better and better. ‘The competitions, whether it’s the Premiership, the Top 14, the Pro14 and the Champions Cup, they’re all a really high standard now. ‘The coaches at the clubs, the level of player, it’s all really good. I think parts of our game in the northern hemisphere get more focus than in Super Rugby. ‘So the defensive side of the game is certainly a strong aspect of what Ireland are doing, what Wales are doing and what we’re doing. ‘What we saw with the Lions in New Zealand was the same. ‘And that makes it tough for the southern hemisphere teams because, within their competitions, I don’t think the emphasis on defence is as strong as it is up north.’