The Ben White verdict on under-pressure Gregor Townsend

Ben White was delighted that Scotland were able to ease the pressure on “amazing” head coach Gregor Townsend with their emphatic Calcutta Cup triumph over England.

The Scots defeated the Auld Enemy 31-20 on Saturday to end a run of seven defeats in a row against sides ranked in the world’s top 10.

The victory went some way to quietening the noise that had built up around Townsend’s position on the back of a poor autumn campaign and defeat away to Italy in his side’s Guinness Six Nations opener.

White acknowledged that criticism is “part and parcel of the sport” when results do not meet expectations, but the scrum-half insisted Saturday’s swashbuckling performance was testament to the “courage” Townsend gives the Scotland players.

“Obviously we’re aware of everything that goes on outside of the environment,” said White, alluding to the scrutiny on the head coach and the players. “People are passionate and when you’re playing for your country, people just want wins and success, and that’s what we want as well.

“It’s nothing personal, it’s part of the privilege of playing for your country. With how tough the week had been, I think to put on that performance it made it extra sweet.

“I just love it, that’s why I play rugby, to see the crowd, the atmosphere, people smiling and cheering and staying after the game and enjoying it with their kids.

“Gregor is proud of the performance that we put in, the way we played, the charisma we showed. He’s awesome, he’s an amazing coach to play for because he gives us so much confidence in what we do.

“Obviously he has a lot of detailed stuff in how we play, but he gives us courage and belief in the style of rugby that we play, so that’s awesome to be a part of.”

Scotland have been blighted by inconsistency under Townsend, with his critics pointing to their inability to build on positive results like Saturday’s.

They are second in the championship table after two rounds of fixtures and have the chance to strengthen their position when they visit ailing Wales on Saturday after spending this week at a training camp in Spain.

“The championship’s tough, there’s no rest, there’s no bye (fallow) week this year like there has been in the past,” said White. “We need to recover well, train hard and not take the foot off the gas.

“Getting five points at home was huge for us and also just the momentum that can give us going forward. We go to Wales and it’s an opportunity for us but we know we’re going to have to play really well.

“We go there with confidence but if we don’t play to the best of our abilities and we’re not clinical and accurate, they’re a side that can punish us.”