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Ex-England player bemused by SRU's 'proper team' Scotland gamble
Former England out-half Andy Goode can’t fathom why the SRU have yet to offer Gregor Townsend a contract extension given how great the future now looks for Scotland. The head coach, who has been in charge since 2017, is currently enjoying his best period as the Test team boss.
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He led the Scots to back-to-back opening round Six Nations wins over England and Wales for the first time since the 1996 Five Nations and his team then showed commendable defiance in their comeback from a perilous 0-19 deficit to make France sweat in Paris last Sunday before Les Bleus confirmed their 21-32 win with a last-gasp try.
Scotland next host Ireland in Edinburgh on March 12 knowing that win would clinch a first Triple Crown since 1990, yet there is no guarantee that Townsend will be in charge beyond the end of this year’s Rugby World Cup in France.
Despite speculation of a move elsewhere, namely to the Top 14, the SRU haven’t yet offered Townsend a contract extension to carry on leading Scotland in 2024 and the situation has perplexed ex-England half-back Goode.
Speaking on this week’s Rugby Pod about the curious standoff between the Scottish union and its head coach, Goode said: “It’s interesting, Gregor has come out and said Scotland haven’t offered him a contract yet.
“They are in the best position they have ever been in and how the SRU haven’t extended his contract, yet I have got no idea because everything is looking great for Scotland moving forward in terms of the players, the way they are playing, their understanding, the relationships, everything that Gregor has created. It needs to continue but watch this space as to what happens.
“You don’t want that plucky loser tag but as the French said, that is the best Scotland team that has ever come across to Paris. I’m looking at it and thinking Ireland go up to Scotland next week, that is a tougher game for Ireland than England in the last one, the Grand Slam decider potentially for them.
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“You could see Scotland performing and putting Ireland under a lot of heat and potentially beating Ireland because of their performances. This Scotland team is a proper team… they are a damn good team and the unfortunate thing for Scotland is the madness of the World Cup draw when it was three years ago because they have got Ireland and South Africa. If they were drawing a World Cup now, they are fifth in the world so they are a proper team.”
Goode also gave praise to the influence currently wielded at out-half by Finn Russell. “Finn is a class player. People have used the term maverick before – I’m guilty of using it. I look at some of his game and it’s maverick-like but he has educated himself and works exceptionally hard off the field at how to manipulate defences.
“From what you hear he spends hours watching footage… he is world-class, there is no two ways about it. He is a phenomenal player and the frustrating thing was I was watching that and was desperate for Scotland to win. It was enthralling.
“Scotland had so many opportunities but that top tier of international rugby is about taking those one or two opportunities and the difference was that lineout that went awry which could have gotten the win. Conversely, France scored at the end with a bit of power from a similar lineout.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments