Townsend responds to ex-Scotland flanker branding side 'an embarrassment'
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has responded to former Scottish international Jason White describing his ex-side as 'an embarrassment' following their disappointing loss to Ireland at the Rugby World Cup.
The Scots were blown away by Ireland 36-14, with two late tries saving the Scots from being nilled by a rampant Irish side in their Pool B decider.
Many fans and former have voiced their frustration with the performance, or lack thereof, and Townsend admits that they are right to feel aggrieved after Scotland exited the tournament prior to the knockout stages.
"I thought the supporters were right to be disappointed, right to see the scoreline and think, 'this is not Scotland, this is terrible'," said Townsend when asked about White's comments. "We get that. We feel so disappointed that we weren't able to make it a much more competitive game and that hurts us as well as it does our supporters. At the end of a tournament it hurts us even more."
Townsend also responded to a question on whether or not he felt his players had been too vocal in the lead-up to the game. Post-match comments from Ireland flanker Peter O'Mahony implied that Ireland may have used the words as motivation.
"Players are free to talk how they want to talk to the media. There is obviously much more media in the World Cup. We don't tell players what to say, they can say how they feel. We felt confident in our game based on what we'd done over the last year or so. We obviously didn't deliver that. I would much prefer our players being confident going into a game than not confident.
"I was proud of a lot of aspects of the game. I am hugely disappointed that the game got away from us. We're out of the World Cup.
"There's a lot that gets invested, from players to coaches and management, and for it to end in a disappointing result, a big score, is very tough.
"I have been involved with teams in the past and your defeats can shape you as well. Sport will have defeats and victories, we understand that. All that work that has been put into this team and the work that the players have put in has to continue. We have to learn how we can be better in our own game but also learn from the number one team in the world - what are they doing to make them consistent, effective and better than anyone else right now?
"That will be the process we work on and how we approach our next tournament, which will be the Six Nations in a few months' time."
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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