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Gregor Townsend faces the press after latest Scotland damp squib
By Alasdair Mackenzie at Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Gregor Townsend insisted he still has the appetite to turn around Scotland’s Six Nations campaign after a demoralising opening defeat in Italy.
Townsend, leading his country through the Championship for the ninth time, saw his side fall to an 18-15 defeat under torrential rain in Rome to leave any slim hopes of a title bid hanging by a thread after just one game.
It came after an underwhelming 2025 ended with defeats to New Zealand and Argentina in the autumn before reports of a move to Newcastle Red Bulls after the 2027 Rugby World Cup were dismissed by Townsend as “pure speculation.”
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But the under-pressure coach insisted he is as up for the fight as ever and hopes to turn things around when England visit Murrayfield next Saturday to contest the Calcutta Cup.
“Absolutely. We have a game in seven days’ time. We have got a game to review, a selection to be put together and how we improve today is all we’re thinking about as a coaching group,” Townsend said in a press conference.
“It’s very tough when you lose but when you’ve got a game around the corner, your focus has to be on that. How do we make sure we put on a training session, a team, that goes out there and gives our supporters a victory? That’s all we’re motivated by. We didn’t get it today, but the focus will be quickly on England.”
Townsend added: “We saw our supporters on the way to the game today. We play for them, we play for each other as a group. It means a huge amount to our players and to me what playing for Scotland means, and we’re really disappointed for them. We didn’t find a way to win. We didn’t get the win. We have another opportunity next week but we’re really disappointed and our fans are right to be disappointed.”
Townsend quickly rejected any notion that the Newcastle speculation was a distraction ahead of the game and made it clear that he expects to lead the team next weekend.
“Well, I want to, that’s my job. That’s what I’m focused on,” he said.
The conditions played a big part in how the game played out in Rome, with both sides regularly turning to the boot to deal with lashing rain and a pitch so heavy that players had to splash through puddles of water.
Scotland struggled to adapt and were hamstrung by a malfunctioning lineout, making it difficult for them to capitalise on the 69 per cent territory they enjoyed over the 80 minutes.
But Townsend also pointed out that Italy’s fast start, where Louis Lynagh and Tommaso Menoncello both scored tries inside the opening 13 minutes, made life difficult before the worst conditions kicked in midway through the first half.
“There were two games out there, the first 20 minutes and then there was the game which totally changed with the weather,” he said.
“We put ourselves in positions: lineouts in the opposition 22, some good phase play, but whether it was Italy stealing a lineout, or us giving away a penalty, that stopped us carrying on what we were doing.
“Obviously the two tries Italy scored, one of them we were disappointed with how we defended it, the other one with the ball coming loose, they made the most of that. I felt the intent was there, a lot of our build-up play was good, but in that first 20 minutes we only obviously scored that one try.
“But we should have been better and after that it became a totally different game and one with a lot of mistakes from both teams, where you don’t want the ball, you want to be kicking, trying to get the ball back and forcing penalties and errors from the opposition.”
Townsend went as far as to say it was the worst weather he had seen at a Scotland match since the washout of their 13-6 defeat at Murrayfield in 2020.
“We looked at the weather all week and you don’t know how it’s going to be. The start of the game was fine, the conditions were good, both teams were moving the ball around,” Townsend said.
“Then the worst conditions we’ve probably seen since England in 2020. So it’s six years we’ve not had conditions like that. It does change the game.
“It means you’re one phase, you’re kicking, the set piece and discipline become even more important. In the aerial game we did a lot of good things, forced errors, but around the set piece there were times Italy got ahead of us, got penalties or won possession. That is certainly an area for us to improve for next week.”
George Turner’s 10-minute spell in the sin bin for an illegal clear-out was another spoke in the wheels of any Scottish momentum in the second half, and a bold last-gasp attempt to pinch a win at the death by working their way from one end of the pitch to the other with the clock in the red ultimately came to nothing.
However, Townsend believes there were positives to take from the performance despite the disappointing result.
“There were a few challenges today [but] the players stepped up to,” he added.
“The performance in the second half put Italy under pressure. We were in a really promising situation when we got five metres from the line, we were awarded a couple of penalties, and it was reversed. I felt during the yellow card period the players found solutions, were in control.
“Right at the end it wasn’t good enough, we were behind the scoreboard, and we needed first of all to not be behind the scoreboard when those conditions came in and to put Italy under more pressure by not giving away penalties. There were a couple in the second half that cost us.”
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