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Townsend happy to deny Wales advantage despite 'disappointed' Gatland
Gregor Townsend has defended Scotland’s decision to keep the Principality Stadium roof open for their Guinness Six Nations opener in Cardiff.
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Wales head coach Warren Gatland called the decision “disappointing”, saying it would impact upon the atmosphere and noise in the 74,500-capacity stadium.
Tournament regulations say both sides must agree to have the roof closed.
Scotland head coach Townsend said: “I thought we had 48 hours to decide, but they said on Wednesday you have to come to a decision.
“I looked at the forecast and it looked quite nice, I’d much prefer playing with the roof open if we can.
“It’s noisier when the roof’s closed, that’s why they’re disappointed. They don’t get that (advantage).
“If the pitch is greasy it’s not great conditions, but it would be better playing in heavy rain. When we looked, it was good weather with 20 to 30 per cent chance of rain in the morning.”
Rain is actually now forecast in the Welsh capital on Saturday evening, with the game kicking off at 4.45pm.
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But Townsend remains philosophical should that happen, saying: “I hope the weather stays dry, we want it to be a dry day.
“If that’s the case the conditions will be better because the ball does get greasy and sweaty when the roof’s closed.
“You play rugby at every other ground that doesn’t have a roof. So you play in the dry and the wet.
“If it’s a wet day it will be trickier to move the ball, but I have confidence our players can do that, or find another way to put pressure on the opposition through defence and a kicking game.
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“I hope it’s rain in the morning and dry in the afternoon, but we do play in the winter in our sport so players are used to a wet ball.”
Scotland have not beaten Wales in Cardiff since 2002, a day that former outside-half Townsend recalls “wasn’t a great game to play in but I have more fond memories of now”.
Wales have won 11 successive times in Cardiff – nine Six Nations games, a World Cup warm-up and an Autumn Test – although Scotland did win a Covid-impacted contest at Llanelli in 2020.
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Wins
2
Draws
0
Wins
3
Average Points scored
18
23
First try wins
40%
Home team wins
40%
Townsend said: “We don’t talk about why we’ve struggled here in past but we talk about the record.
“Not many have played throughout those years, although a few played here two years ago when we we didn’t perform and produce our best rugby.
“You have defeats and wins in your Test career and the one against Ireland (the 36-14 loss at the 2023 World Cup) is more in our minds than the one two years ago, and certainly those 10 or 20 years before that.”
Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn misses out after picking up a knee injury playing for Toulouse last weekend.
Glasgow’s Kyle Rowe deputises to makes his first international start, his only previous cap coming away to Argentina in July 2022 when he appeared as a substitute and lasted only 10 minutes before damaging his ACL.
“Blair didn’t think he’d thought be out this week, but we had the scan done in camp and he will be out for the first two games,” said Townsend.
“We’re really pleased with Kyle’s form and see him as someone comfortable in that position, and it’s really important we’ve got someone with confidence coming into such a big fixture.”
Townsend says the game has “come a couple of days too soon” for recently appointed co-captain Rory Darge, who has been sidelined by a knee injury, so outside-half Finn Russell leads the side.
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 1, 2024
Comments on RugbyPass
Maybe if you come once in your life in France you won’t writte so much nonsense 🙃
1 Go to commentsWhy did they kill 14 people at a gaelic football match? What had happened earlier that day? Dowson sounds absolutely pathetic, believing what the Irish say about his people, rather than believing what his people say about the Irish.
1 Go to commentsI haven't really experienced the Irish as arrogant but I guess the players maybe got ahead of themselves after a big win. Just thought it being Ireland and their love afair with WC QF exits and it being the ABs maybe they would have taken it a bit more seriously. Maybe they did and just lost anyways, who knows.
3 Go to commentsNot surprising, they tend to get very carried away with themselves very quickly. I’ve never seen a team so devastated at the final whistle than those irish players in that QF, you’d think they had lost the final.
3 Go to commentsJust a roundabout way of claiming to great fun. Self -praise is no praise, frenchie.
1 Go to commentsIreland have played the ABs since the first game 1905 a total of 37 times. The ABs have won 32 and Ireland 5 times. If we look since the first WC, then they have played each other 28 times. All Ireland’s 5 wins have come since 2016. So the ABs won 23 games. Since Ireland won their first game in 2016, they have won 5 and the ABs 4 times. Fairly even. Whatever anyone says, beating ABs consistently is bloody difficult, and when you manage to win a few, show respect to them. Period.
187 Go to comments‘Mom'.
1 Go to commentsA specialist in hitting smaller guys hard and late. Serial cheap shot merchant who deserves more than the usual token sanction for such actions.
1 Go to commentsI like to see the Crusaders lose as much as the next non-Crusaders fan, but the fact that most of their best players have not been available this year is being hand waved away like it shouldn’t effect them. It’s no coincidence that their first dominant performance came when they had more of their best players back. This is not rocket science. If they can stay fit their team at the business end of the season will include Tamaiti Williams, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Quentin Strange, Ethan Blackadder and Cullen Grace in the forwards - most of whom have barely, or not played this year. That is an outstanding pack that have not played together this season. McLeod, Havili, Aumua, Reece, and Halfpenny will be a very different prospect behind their first choice pack as well. Having said all that Penney’s record is scratchy at best, but given the players that have left and their injury list I’m reserving judgement. Penney’s appointment, a bit like Foz, has a similar stench of the incumbent having too much say in his replacement. They are lacking a truly high quality and experienced 10 which will make it hard for them to go the whole way IMO, but the list of teams who would want to play them in the finals will be very short.
17 Go to commentsWhere’s this people's champion come from? Irish people yes….other people? Their arrogance has become breathtaking. Not tested? Oh dear.
187 Go to commentsIf a coach having Crusaders heritage is so sacrosanct, why did the Crusaders not pursue Vern Cotter as Scott Robertson’s replacement?
17 Go to commentsFinau is definitely operating on razor thin margins. He hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. But a player going into contact 6 inches lower than he is expecting, without him even knowing, will end in disaster. You can imagine a situation where the pass dies on Edmed and he has to bend down a little lower to catch it at the last second. Finau’s hit would have been catastrophic. The margins are just too fine. He needs to study how PSDT, at 6’7”, manages to drop his tackle height and exert just as much force with close zero danger of taking someone’s head off. Given how poorly NZ has adapted to lower their tackle height, and that this issue which has plagued the ABs for years and played a big part in them not winning the World Cup, I thought NZR and all SR coaches would be prioritising sorting this issue out. If I was Razor I would be on the phone to Clayton MacMillan and Samipeni Finau saying exactly that. Finau is a monster and shaping up to be the closest thing to Kaino since Kaino, but I wouldn’t risk selecting him for the ABs at the moment.
18 Go to commentsThe surprising stat I saw in the Blues game when showing Sotutu equaling the Blues forwards record was that Akira has not scored a try since 2019. Now my memory is pretty bad when it comes to those sorts of the things, I can remember his AB try though, but anyway I can’t see I can remember his last blues touchdown or any in recent years. Surely that still has to be a bogus stat. Maybe excludes SRA games?
3 Go to commentsDude to me looks pretty fast for a big man, nearly 2m and 130kg, in his workout vid he was signed off. Possibly a bit slow on his reads movement wise though, but I’ve not got anything to compare him to. Hope the dude nails it and finds his sport, could have been a devastating lock in rugby if he wasn’t a footballer growing up.
4 Go to commentsWell, does that make it every year Moana has lost it’s best player the following year? Normally it’s more immediate I guess, at least there best player had a follow up year this time.
1 Go to commentsFinally, an answer to Dan Carter.
1 Go to commentsNever read such tripe. He was hit just as he passed the ball which was reviewed and deemed legal by yes the Australian TMO and referee
18 Go to commentsTerrible idea…will be too hot, no one will travel, fan zones will be promised nice cold guinness and last minute will get water. Also how do you squeeze this into the already busy battle rhythm, Prem, summer series, 6 nations & world cup….if, and its a big IF you’re going to do this, do it in a rugby nation.
2 Go to commentsWell let’s hope world rugby doesn't read some of this nonsense, because next on the agenda will be…“players will only tackle other players deemed to be in their weight class, and only with moderate velocity”.
18 Go to commentsI was never allowed to adjust boots, or ever replaced, while I was playing and staying on the field. If I had issues, I had to go to the sideline and fix them myself. Then I would ask the ref to get back in. That would really make you deal with it FAST!
6 Go to comments