TOWNSEND SINGS PRAISES OF TRY HERO AND GREAT COMMUNICATOR MAITLAND

things that do not get talked about and Sean does that, too, really well.

‘He is the loudest player on the field and is a great communicator.

‘He is always encouraging players, telling them where to go defensively, telling the ref we are onside.

‘He chases kicks like no other winger out there. He is outstanding with that at Saracens and has brought that to Scotland.

‘Some of his kick chases in the Fiji game and today were fantastic. We had him at Glasgow where he was a top player and superb finisher. Now he has more to his game and is a key player for us.’

The Scotland head coach defended his decision to start Adam Hastings at fly-half and move Finn Russell to inside-centre. Maitland’s try came in 65 minutes after Hastings had been taken off and Russell moved to 10 in his place.

Despite that, Townsend said he had seen enough from the duo to consider starting them in the Six Nations. ‘When we play two No 10s at 10 and 12 they both have two big strengths,’ he said. ‘One is passing and decisionmaking in attack and the other is you have two kickers. Nothing is perfect the first time in a new position in international rugby.

‘Adam got more into it as it went on. Finn took a grip on the game at 10 and we will look at the combination again.’

Meanwhile, Scotland’s players donated £10,000 to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation from their match fees after the game.