Gregor Townsend led Scotland to a fourth place finish at this year’s Six Nations (Image: Getty)
Gregor Townsend has admitted he has no plans to walk away from the job following this year’s . Scotland finished the Championship in fourth, having won two and lost three of their five matches.
Had it not been for Finn Russell’s wayward kicks in Scotland’s match against England, Townsend and co. might’ve been heading into the final weekend of action with a solid shot at the title itself. As it turned out, Scotland had a slim chance of winning the title ahead of matchday five but needed a miracle for their Six Nations dreams to become a reality.
Suffice to say, it didn’t arrive, with Ireland, England and eventual champions France, who defeated Scotland 35-16 in Paris, all winning during a relatively shock-free final weekend. However, despite the disappointment, Townsend has revealed he’s keen to keep his job as Scotland coach heading into the next World Cup cycle.
Responding to a question asking if he’s planning on walking away, he said: “No, not at all. It wouldn’t be the right thing to do anyway. As I said, there’s mixed feelings but the biggest feeling I have is pride and encouragement for that display [against France]. It would have been good if we’d taken it like the England game and still been in the mix going into the last ten minutes. That’s the thing we have to improve, just that precision and accuracy.
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Scotland lost to France in their final Six Nations match (Image: Getty)
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The effort, the togetherness and the physicality, which has maybe been questioned in the past. We’ve shown more often than not this season on the Six Nations that we can front up against the biggest packs.”
On his pride for taking charge of the team, he added: “I still feel a massive privilege being in this role. It gives me a big purpose in my life. You need time to reflect as well after tournaments because I know what I’m like.
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“I’m really proud of the performance [against France], but as soon as I start watching the video again, I’ll be down for a few days. But my initial feelings, like they were in Twickenham, and they’re genuine.
“This is what we’re asking of our team to go and deliver, and they did it in really tough circumstances and tough environments. So that’s the basis of a team that can kick on.”