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Townsend: Hogg won't repeat McInally's failure as Scotland skipper
Gregor Townsend has backed Stuart Hogg to shoulder the responsibility of captaining Scotland – after admitting the honour was too much for Stuart McInally.
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The Edinburgh hooker led the team out at the World Cup in Japan after being picked ahead of former skippers Greig Laidlaw and John Barclay but struggled under the weight of the role.
So much so, he was even dropped for the final pool match against the hosts as the Scots went on to suffer a humiliating early exit.
Townsend admits the extra duties involved in skippering the team took their toll on McInally. However, the head coach has been encouraged by the enthusiasm Exeter star Hogg has shown since first being offered the top job.
With Barclay and Laidlaw now retired form international action, the 71-cap full-back with two British and Irish Lions tours under his belt is the most experienced member of the 38-man squad Townsend has named for this year’s championship, which the Scots start in Ireland on February 1.
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Townsend said: “Stuart was obviously a very strong candidate given his experience, his leadership ability and his desire to do the role, which was a big positive because it can be challenging.
“I met him a couple of times to go through how he would captain the side, what he would do in the build-up and to handle certain situations. I was impressed by his answers and the thought process that he’s gone into.
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“He’s a mature player in terms of what he contributes. He’s very consistent and really passionate about Scotland, about playing for the jersey and helping the team win.
“To me, he’s going to do a good job. He’s going to be supported with some experienced players around him. He’s going to work to bring the best out of them and we’re looking forward to seeing how he goes.”
McInally took six weeks off in the wake of Scotland’s failed World Cup campaign, later admitting the mental strain of carrying the nation’s hopes left him “never wanting to think about rugby ever again”. But Townsend believes relieving the forward of the burdens of leadership can help him rediscover his best form.
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“It was a tough decision to make with Stuart McInally not starting against Japan and not to be captain,” he admitted. “But he and I had been meeting regularly during that period and he hadn’t been playing to his best. We felt that was because of the new responsibilities and pressures of being captain. The most important thing is that whoever is captain plays well and are able to play well.
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“Stuart has been one of our best and most consistent players and trainers for the last two or three years and wasn’t able to get to that level during the World Cup. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen again and we think a different captain will enable him to focus on his game.”
Townsend has included twelve players who missed the cut for Japan in his Six Nations selection – including the uncapped Alex Craig, Tom Gordon, Nick Haining, Luke Crosbie, Kyle Steyn, and Ratu Tagive.
Duncan Taylor, Ryan Wilson and Pete Horne are the notable absentees while Richie Gray, Blade Thompson, Sam Skinner and Matt Fagerson miss out through injury.
Townsend found his own position under scrutiny after his side failed to make the quarter-finals and he admits improvements are required next month. “We just want to be better,” he said. “We want to be more consistent, we need to be tougher to beat and we know that.
“But where we feel we can beat teams is around our effort, our skill, our speed and some of the players that are coming into our group now help us even more to achieve those goals than before. We have backs who are playing really well in attacking rugby, we have forwards who are ball-carriers with really explosive ability.”
– Press Association
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Comments on RugbyPass
The 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….
76 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 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
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments