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Townsend explains exactly why he has dropped Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw
Gregor Townsend insists dropping Greig Laidlaw for Saturday’s clash with Wales is not the beginning of the end for the skipper’s Scotland career.
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The Clermont Auvergne scrum-half has paid for his part in back-to-back Guinness Six Nations defeats to Ireland and France, with Townsend opting to start Ali Price against Warren Gatland’s Grand Slam-chasers.
Laidlaw turned 33 last October and some will speculate his days are numbered after Townsend confessed he is giving Price a shot as he experiments ahead of this year’s World Cup.
There is no doubt the former Edinburgh ace has not been at his best during the Six Nations so far, so will have to watch from the bench as his understudy gets his chance to prove he can be the man to steer Scotland towards Japan 2019.
But Townsend is not ready to discard Scotland’s second highest all-time points scorer just yet as he insisted Laidlaw still has a vital role to play. “We know there is a big tournament on the horizon and we will see what happens after the World Cup,” said the head coach.
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“That tends to be the time when players reassess where they are, when the coaches reassess what is their next challenge. We know Greig is determined to play his best, play well for Scotland and win for Scotland. He is the only player who has started the last six games, which shows how important a member of our squad he is.
“We had two weeks to reflect on why things didn’t work over in France. We looked at every position, and we also reflected on the fact we’re out of the championship. So if someone has earned their opportunity, Ali Price for example, this is a good time to see if it helps the team win at the weekend.
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“Greig is a key part of the squad. He will have a different role off the bench but he will have an important part to play on Saturday.”
WATCH | Gregor Townsend talks about the changes made to the team to face Wales this Saturday at BT Murrayfield and pays tribute to the Glasgow Warriors pair that will make their 50th appearance #AsOne pic.twitter.com/Kxe9HyUgUd
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 7, 2019
Price will look to make more of this opportunity than he did against the Welsh 12 months ago. The Glasgow Warrior was given the nod over Laidlaw in last year’s opener at the Principality Stadium but handed the hosts their first two tries in a 21-10 flop.
He then had to wait another nine months before being trusted to start a further game for Scotland – ironically against Wales again in Cardiff last November. He will now link up with the fit-again Finn Russell, who returns after missing the Les Bleus defeat with a head knock.
Townsend expects no repeat of his 2018 horror show. He said: “This isn’t a reflection on how Greig is playing, it is a reflection of how Ali has been going.
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“Ali deserved an opportunity to start at some stage, and we believe this weekend is the right time to do it. I believe he’s more resilient after last year. Most players go through periods when things don’t go so well for them.
“He didn’t play as well for club and country during this period last year but physically he is in good shape, and we have seen a step up in his form for Glasgow since November.”
It has been a morale-sapping tournament for Scotland so far but Townsend wants his side to come out fighting. “The Welsh players and supporters and neutrals will believe Wales are the better team and will win,” he said. “We will have to just wait and see on Saturday afternoon.
BREAKING | Jonny Gray and Tommy Seymour will make their 50th appearance in a Scotland side – that features four changes – against Wales in the Guinness Six Nations this Saturday at BT Murrayfield (kick-off 2.15pm) – live on BBC.
4️⃣ ➡️ Russell, Price, Graham & Nel all start pic.twitter.com/BflNT5FtNp
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 7, 2019
“We realise we have not shown a true picture of what we are capable of. We have come up against some excellent teams in the past, teams that have been on good winning records and risen to the occasion and played at our best. We know that is what we have to do to win.”
Stuart McInally will lead out the team in place of Laidlaw, while Edinburgh prop WP Nel and wing Darcy Graham come in to start. The Glasgow duo of Jonny Gray and Tommy Seymour will win their 50th caps.
Comments on RugbyPass
Will rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
2 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
2 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’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.
28 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
2 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
28 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.
3 Go to comments