'Disdain for the coaching ticket is clear' - Senior Scotland players slammed

Six senior Scotland players who were disciplined internally for breaching team protocols on a boozy night out in Edinburgh last weekend have been slammed online.

BBC Scotland yesterday broke the news that British & Irish Lions trio Finn Russell, Stuart Hogg and Ali Price, as well as Sione Tuipulotu, Darcy Graham and Sam Johnson, incurred the wrath of team management after they left the team hotel to head to a bar in Edinburgh following their return from Rome.

The Scottish Rugby Union acknowledged a disciplinary issue had arisen but declined to confirm the identity of the players.

A statement read: “The Scotland management team have this week dealt with a post-match matter involving six players following the game against Italy last weekend.

“The players involved have been spoken to individually and those conversations and outcomes will remain private.

“Preparations for the match against Ireland this week have been good and the whole squad is fully focused on achieving a positive result on Saturday.”

Of the six players allegedly in question, captain Hogg, Graham, Johnson and Price, who won his 50th cap it Italy, are all in the starting XV for Saturday’s match against Ireland in Dublin, while Russell was a surprise omission from Gregor Townsend’s team, with the talismanic stand-off starting on the bench.

Tuipulotu has been released to play for Glasgow against Edinburgh in the United Rugby Championship on Friday evening.

While some suggested that six rugby players going out for a drink after a win was no big deal, but for the most part, the behavior of senior players involved was panned. It is also being suggested that the incident is indicative of a broader culture of indiscipline in the camp and lack of respect for head coach Gregor Townsend among the senior player group.

"Poor discipline on the pitch and poor discipline off the pitch. The vast majority of the Scotland squad adhered to protocols last weekend. Some didn't, including some of the most senior players. I somehow doubt that Johnny Sexton and co were out on the town on Saturday night," wrote BBC Scotland Chief reporter Tom English.

English later wrote in his column that the 'lack of professionalism is remarkable'.

"What are the innocent squad members thinking? The ones who adhered to the rules. What does it say about the unity of the squad and authority of the management when an element within that squad - including supposed leaders - go rogue and have to be instructed to return to the team base? This is amateur hour stuff.

"It's not exactly Presbyterian strictness to ask elite athletes to respect house rules for one more week when coronavirus positives are on the rise. That's just common sense. That fact that the six couldn't, or wouldn't, see that calls into question their judgement, to put it mildly."

Scottish Daily Mail journalist Rob Robertson wrote: "This story makes you think whether Gregor Townsend can survive this after such a poor Six Nations. No discipline in the camp."

Broadcaster Andrew McKenna wrote: "If I were Gregor Townsend I'd have the proper raging hump. That's not just 6 players, that's basically your core group - the guys who are supposed to set and drive the standards. Added to which, for some of them, it's not their first case. Big games are essential tomorrow."

Rugby writer Paul Williams wrote that Russell being involved in another escapade of this nature 'didn't help himself'.

"I absolutely love Finn Russell as a player. He's class. But he's doesn't help himself sometimes."

Many questioned the respect held within the camp by senior players for Townsend.

"His [Finn's] disdain for the coaching ticket is clear. And it's not surprising tbh. And hes far more important to the team than Hogg. So the hypocrisy is real tbh."

Others were pessimistic about Townsend's future given the episode coming in the context of another boom and bust Six Nations for Scotland.

"A wholly average six nations and senior players who clearly don’t respect him. Dropping Russell tomorrow seems to be the last roll of the dice. When Ireland inevitably beat us by 20+ Townsend should do the decent thing and resign," wrote one fan.

Scotland now face daunting task of Ireland in Dublin, potentially with a group of players and a coaching ticket under more pressure than ever to perform.

additional reporting PA