For Gregor Townsend, it has been the Calcutta Cup of life; now, a meeting with the Auld Enemy could hasten his end. When Steve Borthwick leapt to the defence of his embattled opposite number earlier this week, suggesting that Scottish fans should be more focussed on supporting their side against England than calling for the head coach to go, it betrayed a strange truth about Townsend’s tenure.
The former fly half has transformed the narrative in this fixture, taking over a side that had failed to win any of their last nine meetings with England and losing just twice in eight Calcutta Cups since. It is a striking and significant turnaround. But the frustration – of which there is much, particularly after a wretched defeat to Italy – stems from the fact that it has failed to be a part of something larger.
As Borthwick pointed out, Townsend boasts the best winning percentage of any Scottish coach of the modern era. But that is not championship winning form, and this has not been a championship-winning Scottish side, despite their success against England. Indeed, they’ve not even managed to mount a true title challenge – a so-called golden generation of players has not yet even settled for silver.
“It’’s only really on days like this where you have to experience it because it’s such a busy job,” Townsend said of the outside noise on Thursday, admitting he understood the frustration of the fans. “You fill every minute of the day with reviewing what we could have done better, going into selection, going into training.
“It’s part of the job, part of losing. The feeling of losing is worse than the distraction around what people are giving their opinions to the group or to me as a coach.”
The missteps of the autumn, with a position of relative strength squandered against New Zealand before one of overwhelming ascendancy tossed away against Argentina, had already left Townsend under pressure coming into this campaign. If the fact that they occupied winning positions left positives to take, there could be no such solace in the Rome deluge. Off the field, too, Townsend is under increased scrutiny after dismissing a report in The Telegraph about a move to Newcastle after the 2027 World Cup as “pure speculation”, and suggesting it was written to unsettle his side ahead of the Calcutta Cup.
It was a strange reaction for several reasons. Firstly, an attempt to paint it as some sort of English plot suggested that Townsend’s focus was already elsewhere, rather than the task at hand in Italy, besides being entirely incorrect. Secondly, there are plenty in rugby who are discussing the Scotland head coach ending up at Newcastle as an almost fait accompli, given he already consults with Red Bull and close lieutenant Gavin Vaughan is heading to Kingston Park after this tournament. Townsend was careful, too, in his wording, not ruling out the possibility of ending up at the Prem club but saying that no contract had been signed.
It would be entirely understandable for the coach to be exploring his options beyond a World Cup that many feel he would be lucky to make. There are some who would have been happy for him to go after the last tournament in France brought a second pool-stage exit in successive editions. Many more may have felt that a contract due to expire this summer would have been a natural end. But Townsend, who it should be said has largely done a good job, was given a contract extension in September to encompass the trip to Australia next year – a decision that now appears misguided.
He has not been helped, necessarily, by the success of Franco Smith at Glasgow Warriors, the South African not so much a king across the water but along the M8. The extension of Smith’s deal at the United Rugby Championship (URC) club was announced at the same time as Townsend’s; where his side have since kicked on to finish as second seeds in Europe and push Leinster for top spot in the table, the national team have stumbled. Townsend has experienced an inverse of such a situation before, with the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) moving Vern Cotter aside to promote him to the top job originally amid overtures from Harlequins.
Would the SRU repeat such a move so close to the World Cup? It is perhaps fair to question if anyone at the union has the clout, command or confidence to make such a move. David Nucifora, the performance director, is not full-time, spent last summer with the British and Irish Lions and on an expiring two-year advisory deal. He is not the only part-timer – the highly-regarded defence coach Lee Radford is currently job-sharing with Northampton, having stepped in for Steve Tandy in October.
It would, perhaps, be very Scotland to pull out another big Calcutta Cup showing just as deep cracks start to really show. This remains a highly talented, and generally well coached, side, even if front-five depth and player development remain areas of significant concern. But another defeat to turn up the heat could yet bubble Townsend’s cauldron towards boiling point.
“If we take Tonga out, the last two performances or last two results against Italy and Argentina have been disappointing,” he admitted. “It opens up opportunities for criticising the team, criticising the coach. I get that. It’s not good enough from our perspective. We didn’t win those games and we’re hugely disappointed for our supporters. That’s what we’re working to rectify.”
