Townsend going with Gatland will ultimately benefit Scots, says Smith
IT seems the kind of question best answered by a travel agent but, in the end, Gregor Townsend may have to make the call himself: where to go in the summer, New Zealand or Australia? Tour with the British and Irish Lions or with Scotland? Gap Year or straight into the new job...
Currently — and for the length of the domestic season — head coach of the Glasgow Warriors, Townsend appears to be a man in demand, such is the esteem in which he is currently held.
But the issue of whether he should begin his new role in charge of Scotland for the trip Down Under, or — if asked — be part of Warren Gatland’s backroom staff against the mighty All Blacks, is a difficult one.
There are pluses and minuses on both sides, which no doubt will be well debated before the official announcement on December 7. Tom Smith, the last Scot to start a Test match for the Lions, believes it is a no-brainer, however. He insists Townsend’s involvement could even end a depressing shortage of Scots among the home nations’ elite.
‘I think to have a Scottish coach on a Lions tour would be massive,’ said Smith, currently based in France.
‘There are positives and negatives to Gregor being part of the Lions — and the fact that he will have just taken over as Scotland coach when the Lions leave and so miss his first tour (Scotland are planning to play Fiji, Italy and hosts Australia in a quadrangular tournament) would be a major negative.
‘But, in my opinion, the positives for Scottish rugby far outweigh the negatives. You cannot underestimate the effect a Lions tour has on improving players and coaches, but also on the rugby in their countries.
‘I’m confident that we will have another starting Test Lion next year — with a bit of luck Stuart Hogg will end the wait — but, without a Scottish coach, we will struggle again to have many others involved.
‘And then not only do the players lose out, Scottish rugby continues on the vicious cycle, missing out on the huge experience and learning that players and coaches gain on a Lions tour.
‘It’s unique. The intensity is higher than it is playing for Scotland, or anyone else. Standards are higher across the board in training and games. You discover what it takes to compete with the world’s best and to win at that rarefied level.
‘That is special knowledge and gaining that has a major effect on the clubs and national teams they come back to. So, if the offer comes, the SRU would be daft not to seriously consider letting Gregor go.’
With a series win last time out in his locker, Gatland was the unsurprising choice as Lions head coach for the 2017 tour to New Zealand. The Kiwi was coy on his management choices this time, saying he wanted to keep continuity but also introduce fresh faces.
With Rob Howley having taken over as Wales head coach, there is debate over whether he would go as the Lions backs coach again and, even if he does, Gatland wants more coaches after feeling the pressure in Australia, trying to cope with two games a week.
Though Sir Ian McGeechan took charge of what turned out to be a successful midweek team, that last New Zealand tour in 2005 almost destroyed the Lions.
The Test squad were soundly beaten 3-0, Clive Woodward became a laughing stock and many called for the Lions concept to be put to sleep.
The 2009 and 2013 tours have restored the appeal and next year’s is expected to be the most successful financially and in terms of supporters, with all stadiums already sold out.
Smith started six consecutive Lions Tests from 1997 to 2001 and hopes Glasgow full-back Hogg is aiming to replicate that feat in the next five years —while alongside widely tipped candidates for 2017 Richie and Jonny Gray, WP Nel and John Hardie, Smith rates Ross Ford, Alasdair Dickinson, Finn Russell and Duncan Taylor as genuine contenders.
Throw in Greig Laidlaw, Tommy Seymour and Mark Bennett, and Scotland should have a healthy crop of wannabes.
‘Which is why it would be great to get Gregor involved,’ added Smith. ‘Thinking about how the dynamic of team selection works, if you have a Welsh head coach sitting with a Welsh backs coach, an English forwards coach, attack coach and scrum coach, and there are tight decisions, the guys will go back to the players they know best and trust. That’s human nature.
‘Would they know what Hogg is capable of under pressure or what Jonny Gray can deliver when the chips are down? Gregor would. The same will go for Finn Russell and others.’