For a Townsend squad announcement, this one was unpredictably predictable
There are 138 days until Scotland open their World Cup campaign, when all the talk and speculation and hype ends and the rugby begins with a whopper of a pool match against Ireland in Yokohama.
That monumental curtain-raiser four-and-a-half months down the tracks seems an age away. There are play-offs to come and trophies to be contested, camps in Portugal and Nagasaki and four warm-up fixtures against two different opponents.
But the World Cup suddenly has a tangible feel with the naming of the players who will compete for a seat on the plane. This is how rugby is nowadays, a hamster wheel of monstrous proportions.
On Tuesday morning, Gregor Townsend revealed the 42-strong group that will vie for the 31 places in the tournament squad. The coach has left the door ajar with two spots in the camp – one for a forward, one for a back – still up for grabs. It’s up to those left out to use the final throes of the club season to force their case.
For a Townsend squad announcement, this one was unpredictably predictable. There was no revving of the “Toony Tombola”, no meticulously cultivated bolt from the blue that nobody saw coming and most had no idea was Scottish.
WATCH | Gregor Townsend discusses the 42-man training squad named in preparation for Rugby World Cup 2019. #AsOne pic.twitter.com/Wb1Jd4mJgW
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) May 7, 2019
The World Cup is no place for experimentation, but with so long to prepare, still you wondered if we’d get a James Lang or a Luke Hamilton or a Sam Skinner thrust to the fore. Instead, we got an established, trusted group of players into which the coaches will invest hour upon hour of fine-tuning.
The omissions? Duncan Weir is deeply unfortunate. The little pivot is having a blinder of a season, his canny play and points haul going a long way to Worcester Warriors’ retaining their Premiership status.
He might not be the perfect man to implement Townsend’s high-tempo attacking style but he brings different skills to the table than Finn Russell, Adam Hastings or Pete Horne, and that variety could be an important factor in the matches to come. It seems Townsend will go with two recognised fly-halves in Russell and Hastings, with Horne, Greig Laidlaw or Stuart Hogg providing emergency cover.
Lock is a position of supreme strength for Scotland, with Jonny Gray in brilliant end-of-season form, Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis with credit in the bank from their outstanding Six Nations, and Skinner bringing dynamism and versatility.
Still, the elder Gray brother might claim that last remaining forwards berth with a strong finale in France. The giant Richie Gray has endured an injury-ravaged two years and it has taken time for him to produce anything like his best form after his latest hip operation.
Only now is Gray showing flourishes of the lineout menace and power in open prairie that make him such an appealing option. Playing in a mesmeric Toulouse team motoring at the Top 14 summit will help his cause.
BREAKING | Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend has named a 42-man training squad in preparation for #RWC2019 in Japan.
A further two spaces in the squad remain unfulfilled with Townsend keeping the door open for those operating at the business end of the season. pic.twitter.com/HpbNaYKAhZ
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) May 7, 2019
Scott Cummings is another second row with a lot to like about his game. The Glasgow man is a wonderful talent and very much in the Townsend mould but still uncapped, and ousting Gray junior, Gilchrist, Toolis and Skinner looks a tall order.
Three uncapped players are in, but none could be classed as a shock selection. Grant Stewart, the Glasgow hooker, is very useful around the paddock but fourth-choice in his position behind Stuart McInally, Fraser Brown and George Turner. Centre Rory Hutchinson has been a scintillating menace for Northampton Saints and the defensive side of his game is getting better.
Blade Thomson would be an international by now were it not for the brain injury he suffered on duty for Scarlets against Edinburgh six months ago. The lithe New Zealand-born back row is an exhilarating prospect in a Scotland jersey – rapid, athletic, with brilliant footballing skills – and Townsend will be eager to try him out in the summer warm-up games.
In fact, selecting a group of back rows is going to be fiendishly difficult. Beyond Hamish Watson and John Barclay, nobody looks safe. Jamie Ritchie was immense in the Six Nations but Gary Graham brings dog in abundance and Ryan Wilson is fit again.
The Glasgow co-captain is a particular favourite of Townsend for his intangible leadership, personality and confrontational streak as much as his relentless work rate on the field. Magnus Bradbury is a hell of a carrier at his best, but can he be that ballast merchant for 80 minutes? Ditto Josh Strauss. Would Thomson or the outstanding young Matt Fagerson be a better shout at No8? Generally, World Cup squads comprise five loose forwards. These calls will be fascinating.
The centres, once barren ground in Scottish rugby, are loaded with even more options. Three or four will go and who ever Townsend picks, he is going to leave a mountain of firepower sitting at home.
NEWS | In today's 'spotlight on…' we take a look at the journey made by centre Rory Hutchinson to Scotland's 42-man training squad in preparation for Rugby World Cup 2019.https://t.co/i227sK4gEN
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) May 7, 2019
Sam Johnson has been a stupendous addition to Scotland and made himself the first-choice 12. Horne can cover fly-half and Townsend likes using him as a clever second distributor. Nick Grigg had a fine Six Nations, his defence noticeably improved. There’s Hutchinson to throw into the mix and we all know what Huw Jones can do.
How heartening, too, to see Duncan Taylor, whose last competitive match came in September and most recent Test 15 months before that, deemed fit enough to join the squad. Taylor is recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery, the latest in a heinous spate of injuries, and it’s a sign of how highly Townsend rates the big centre that he has been brought into camp so quickly.
The stricken Mark Bennett scored in Scotland’s last World Cup outing, the unspeakably painful quarter-final loss to Australia four years ago, but as things stand he won’t be in Japan this time around and nor will Matt Scott. Alex Dunbar has been besieged by injuries and is dreadfully short of game time. Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowall, James Johnstone or Chris Dean all had compelling cases.
The areas of weakness are less apparent. You still sense Scotland are short of a monster loosehead prop. South Africans Oli Kebble and Pierre Schoeman would almost certainly be in this squad had their respective residency periods been completed.
As it is, Allan Dell is a shoo-in, and likely one of Jamie Bhatti, hitting form at the right time, and Gordon Reid, searching for a club, will make the cut. At tighthead, Simon Berghan has blossomed into a Test-calibre asset under Townsend and if the coach goes with the conventional route of taking five props, he should be included alongside WP Nel and Zander Fagerson.
There are positions, like tighthead, where the quality is obvious and the selections, barring injury, will be straightforward. Ali Price, Greig Laidlaw and George Horne are the top three scrum-halves. McInally, Brown and Turner will go as hookers.
??????? | Congratulations to the 1?7? Warriors selected in Gregor Townsend's Scotland training squad for the Rugby World Cup ?? #AsOne | ? Full Story ?? https://t.co/VsSyjvbvI5 pic.twitter.com/aYji9yTRZt
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) May 7, 2019
Russell and Hastings are thrilling options at 10. And we can presume with near-absolute certainty that Hogg, Sean Maitland, Tommy Seymour, Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham will cover the back-three. This is some fantastic weaponry to wield.
The pool Townsend has to draw upon is undeniably strong, stronger than it has been for 20 years. Areas of historic famine have become bountiful. The long road to Yokohama has begun.
WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what the fans can expect in Japan at the Rugby World Cup
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments