Townsend: I have stomach for fight to revive Scotland

Coach insists he will not quit despite early exit Plea for bigger squads and longer tournament

Gregor Townsend vowed not to walk away as Scotland head coach despite their group-stage exit from the World Cup.

Supporters on social media were calling for Townsend to be dismissed after Scotland failed to qualify for the knockout stages for just the second time in their history.

After slumping to an opening 27-3 defeat by Ireland, Scotland rebounded with convincing victories against Samoa and Russia only to come up short in a frenetic 28-21 defeat by Japan at the Yokohama International Stadium on Sunday.

Scotland have won 50 per cent of their Tests against tier-one opposition under Townsend, but recorded just one victory in this year’s Six Nations, against Italy. Townsend admitted his fate lay in the hands of Scottish Rugby’s power brokers, but said he had no intention of standing down, insisting: “We are running to keep up but I believe in this group of players and that we can beat the best teams in the world.”

He added: “Of course I have [the stomach for the fight]. I feel very lucky and privileged to be in this role. If someone else was to do it, the least I could say is that I’ve enjoyed the time here. You might not get the impression, but I do not like losing. You always feel it when you’ve represented your country and not done a good enough job. That’ll start to hit over the next few days.

“But that atmosphere [against Japan], and with these great players, it’s the best job in the world. There’s highs and lows, but I know I’ll be a better coach for the experience, the team will be better, but the proof will be in the next games. It would not be my decision anyway. I am not somebody who would not go to the end of his contract. When it comes to the coach, it is somebody else’s decision but I believe we have the makings of a very good team that can compete with the best teams in the world.

“We have not done that well enough in this tournament. We have done that at other times and gone and worked to make it better.”

Townsend refused to use the distraction of Typhoon Hagibis and the ensuing legal threats from Scottish Rugby as excuses. He did, however, point to the significant advantage that hosts Japan faced as the only team who did not have a short turnaround in the pool stages. Scotland had just four days to prepare for their final group game after beating Russia on Wednesday, one of which was lost to the typhoon.

“It changes your training plan quite severely when you’ve only got one training session going into the biggest game in your pool,” Townsend said. “Of course it’s a handicap. Every team got a fourfive-day turnaround but one in this tournament.”

Four years ago, Japan faced an identical situation, coming up against Scotland four days after their historic victory over South Africa. However, Townsend has proposed extending the tournament as well as increasing squad sizes to reduce fatigue on players. “They can make the tournament last longer and have no turnarounds, or everyone should have one. The other thing the organisers have to look at is bigger squads, 31 is very tight,” he said.

There are causes for optimism. The emergence of openside James Ritchie and lock Scott Cummings at this tournament demonstrates that talent is still coming through the ranks. However, Townsend says his first priority is rebounding in the Six Nations before fast-tracking youth development.

“There is a danger to change too much too quickly,” Townsend said. “I think the Six Nations is such a big tournament and it’s round the corner. It’s not a case that we’re now planning for four years’ time, we’re planning to have a successful Six Nations.

“Young players have stepped up and grabbed their opportunity these last few weeks.”