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Why George Turner believes Scotland 'can do amazing' at World Cup

By PA
(Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Scotland hooker George Turner has insisted they will not settle for second best at the Rugby World Cup. Gregor Townsend’s side have the top two teams in the world in their pool, South Africa and Ireland, but they are ranked fifth themselves and have beaten the likes of England, Wales and France this year.

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Turner is aiming high ahead of their opening game against the Springboks on September 10. Turner said: “You don’t go into things looking for second place. We want to win. We think we can win. There is that confidence in us.

“We are in a good place. Where we are at the moment, the group of players, how we are feeling, we can do amazing at this World Cup. We can beat any team on our day if we get it right and don’t switch off.”

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    The Glasgow forward believes the tight-knit nature of the squad will be a major asset. “I have got a wife and three kids so being away from home can be difficult because we are a close family and we do a lot together,” the 30-year-old said.

    “I’m trying to get them out to France for some time so they can come to a game and I can see them on a day off. Since lockdown, people have probably spent even more time with their families so it can be tough when you are away.

    Team Form

    Last 5 Games

    5
    Wins
    2
    5
    Streak
    1
    15
    Tries Scored
    15
    188
    Points Difference
    -25
    2/5
    First Try
    2/5
    2/5
    First Points
    1/5
    2/5
    Race To 10 Points
    3/5

    “Five weeks, six weeks, two months, whatever it is, it’s a long time to be away so it is a big deal for all the players. We have got a good connection, we are a tight group. Everyone gets on and nothing is forced within the group.

    “People can hang out with whomever they wish and do whatever they want. There is no pressure on anyone to go out if they don’t want to. If you need to decompress on your own you can do that.”

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    Comments

    1 Comment
    C
    CL 695 days ago

    Realistically they beat France B team. Yes they ran the A team close, but still beat the B team.

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    Comments on RugbyPass

    J
    JW 20 minutes ago
    Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

    Nice, that’s good to hear, I was worried for the tackler and it increasing concussions overall.


    My question is still the same, and the important one though. Where the rate of concussions in Fed 2 high? Of course if there where only three concussions, and they were reduced now to one, then there is no need for the new laws etc.


    There are two angles to this discussion, mine above about player welfare, and of course the that which you raise, legal responsibility. More, the legal responsibility we are concerned with is what’s happening now.


    WR don’t really know much about CTE I wouldn’t think, whether it happens from innocuous things like heading a ball, or from small knocks or big knocks that don’t heal. Right now they are ensuring the backside is clean by implementing laws to rule out any possibility they didn’t do enough. So once they understand the problem more they may realise some things are overboard.


    The other legal responsibility is the one you are talking about in France, the past. Did the LNR and WR know about the severity and frequency of CTE in rugby? That is the question in that debate. If they didn’t know then theres nothing they could have done, so there is no worry. Further, what we may have now is a situation where 90% of those court actions might not happen in future thanks to the new framework we already have around HIA and head contact processes. Your English example is only going to be an issue if future players still continue to receive CTE (as that is obviously bad), as it is now, the players have taken on their own responsibility by ignore advice. No doubt some countries, like France and New Zealand, will lower their tackle height, but as long as the union has done an adequate job in advising of the severity of the problem at least the legal shadow over the community game will have gone.

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