Red Arrows, Blue Jays and Roberto Martinez all on eclectic list advising Townsend's Scotland
Gregor Townsend hopes his learning sessions with the Red Arrows can help Scotland make a flying start when they resume international action. The Scottish boss and his backroom staff had a video meeting with the RAF’s aerobatic display team three days before the pilots played a key role in the UK’s VE Day celebrations.
Townsend and his team have had regular online sessions with a number of other management and coaching teams in a bid to share ideas and get an extra edge for when sport returns following the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. “After the first couple of weeks, we had reviewed the entire Six Nations with our coaches and players,” said Townsend, whose team’s summer tour to South Africa and New Zealand has been postponed.
“After we went into lockdown, our analyst said how about we have a takeaway Tuesday, we invite someone in and get to share that learning. I thought it was a great idea. And on a Thursday, if we have had conversations with other people around the world or read a book, we will share that with the rest of the coaches.
“That worked for a couple of weeks but then it became almost every day because we were getting so competitive about phoning up a coach from another team and those people were saying yes. It became excellent, learning from sport or other organisations can get you to open your mind more.
“We have had people from teaching, coaching education, rugby league, rugby union, hockey. It’s just got us to think from an outside perspective on what we can do well, what we can build on and things that have worked in other domains that could apply to us. It has been a good time for us to improve as coaches and get some professional development.”
The 47-year-old added: “These discussions and meetings are quite varied. This week we had the Toronto Blue Jays, a hook-up with our staff and their staff. There was about 30 people on the Zoom call and then we broke out into groups about things around player well-being, communication but also strength and conditioning and scouting.
“We’ve spoken to people in football. We spoke to the Belgian coaches, Roberto Martinez and his staff. We’ve also spoken to people in rugby, but probably the most fascinating one was the Red Arrows. We got to speak to two of their team of nine, one of them being their leader.
“It was three days before they flew over London and we just couldn’t believe they gave up their time to discuss how they put together their performances, how they review it. There were a few things we took from that we could apply in our sport.”
Townsend and his fellow coaches will have more time to enhance their knowledge after World Rugby announced all July internationals had been called off. Scotland had been due to take on South Africa twice before playing the All Blacks away for the first time in 20 years.
Townsend said: “It has been clear to our players, staff and supporters that the significant impact of Covid-19 across the world has meant international travel at this time was going to be very unlikely in the coming months and so it has proved.
“As a team we were generating some positive momentum in the Six Nations and we were all looking forward to the exciting challenge of playing the world champions, and the All Blacks, on their home soil this summer.
“As a tour it would have provided an excellent learning experience, but we fully understand the reasons why it can’t go ahead. We wish the players, staff and families of both South Africa and New Zealand well at this difficult time and look forward to testing ourselves against them in the future.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to comments