Graeme Macpherson
Gregor Townsend will join his fellow Six Nations head coaches at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin tomorrow for the official launch of this year’s tournament.
But who might get to enjoy a pint of the black stuff alongside him as Scotland captain?
Among the myriad storylines to emerge from Tuesday’s squad announcement was the fact that Townsend had yet to settle on just who will be his on-field leader for the campaign ahead.
The captain has always been seen as a significant role throughout sport, the person who is meant to set the standards, leading by example through word and deed.
That honour is not always given to the best player but needs to be someone who performs consistently at a high level to merit their ongoing inclusion in the team.
Townsend seems unconvinced that Jamie Ritchie ticks all of those boxes right now.
Scotland captain since the tour of South America in 2022, the understanding was that Ritchie would simply carry on where he left off at the World Cup. It has not been that straightforward, however.
The back-rower has been sidelined, first with a shoulder injury and then a problem with his jaw, since returning from France – setbacks that have impinged on his ability to put together a steady run of games for Edinburgh. He is arguably no longer the best flanker at the club given Luke Crosbie’s impressive form, while Andy Christie at Saracens, Glasgow trio Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey, along with Josh Bayliss at Bath will all provide serious competition for places across the back row.
Even given the surprising omission of former British Lion Hamish Watson, it is an area of the field where Scotland are currently bursting with options.
Ritchie, curiously, is also not one of two co-captains at his club – Ben Vellacott and Grant Gilchrist share that responsibility – while there have been murmurs of disapproval about dissent and backchat on the field, with Ritchie’s grumbles regularly picked up by the referee’s microphone.
Townsend, perhaps unfairly, said he would wait to see how Ritchie fared in Friday’s game at Scarlets before finalising his decision but given he was only named among the replacements it was never going to give the 27-yearold much time to make an impression.
It was hard to shake the feeling that, even if Townsend hadn’t yet decided who would be his Scotland captain, he had already made his mind up on who wouldn’t, name-checking the likes of Darge, Finn Russell and Sione Tuipulotu as he talked up their suitability to lead the team.
After a disappointing World Cup in 2019, Townsend replaced his captain, Stuart Mcinally, for the Six Nations a few months later. Is history about to repeat itself?
‘ It’s an area where Scotland are currently bursting with options