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'Do they want Gregor to continue? Does Gregor want to continue?'

By PA
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Former Scotland captain John Barclay is confident uncertainty over Gregor Townsend’s future will not have any adverse impact on the national team’s fortunes in the upcoming Six Nations.

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The head coach is out of contract after the World Cup later this year and he admitted on Tuesday that there have been no talks with the Scottish Rugby Union over whether he will be staying on beyond that.

Barclay – who played for Scotland under Townsend before his retirement from international rugby in 2019 – insists the players will have no trouble maintaining their focus amid speculation about their boss.

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“I can only speak for myself, if I was in that situation (as a player), would I find it distracting? No,” said Barclay, who was promoting Sage, the official insights partner of the Six Nations that will be powering the Smart Ball during the tournament.

“Maybe that says more about me but I think players have enough to worry about and focus on without thinking if the coach is going to be there.

“There is so much rugby between now and when the decision will be made so it won’t have an impact on this Six Nations anyway.

“It is easy to say it will be a distraction, and the fact we are talking about it probably makes it a distraction.

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“But there’s always going to be speculation. And if you rewind six months, people were saying he shouldn’t be getting a new contract anyway.

“If you sign a long contract people wonder why it’s so long. And if you’ve not signed a contract people want to know why, too. I don’t think it matters one way or the other. Scottish Rugby will have a plan.

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“And there are so many moving parts in this. Who’s available? Do they want Gregor to continue? Does Gregor want to continue? There are just so many parts that have to be considered and thankfully that’s not my decision.”

Asked if Townsend – who took the reins in the summer of 2017 – deserves a new deal, Barclay said: “It depends on what the metric is. The most obvious one is that he is the most successful Scotland coach in history. That’s just a fact.”

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Barclay, who won 76 caps, believes that having three home games – against Wales, Ireland and Italy – can help Scotland enjoy a positive Six Nations.

“I think with three home games, you have to be looking to win at least two if not three of those,” said the 36-year-old.

“Ireland’s going to be the biggest challenge at home followed by Wales, and Italy have shown that they’re more than capable of putting some bigger performances together.

“Scotland have won at Twickenham, they’ve also taken home the Calcutta Cup in four of the last five years, so they’ll go there full of confidence but also fully aware of a rejuvenated England.

“If you start well there, then you have Wales the following week and we’ve been in that position before that if you can get two wins early, it’s huge. That would put them in a great position.

“I think three wins would be very good. Four would be exceptional. Is two a disaster? I guess it depends on which two you win.

“If you look at the world rankings and compare the resources in Ireland, Wales, France, it’s so hard. That being said, if Scotland get moving like they did against the All Blacks and Argentina (in the autumn) then I think they can be a match for anyone.”

:: Sage is the official insights partner of Six Nations Rugby and will be powering the Smart Ball during the Guinness Six Nations #SageInsights.

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H
Hellhound 45 minutes ago
South Africa player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series

There is this thing going around against Siya Kolisi where they don't want him to be known as the best national captain ever, so they strike him down in ratings permanently whenever they can. They want McCaw and reckons he is the best captain ever. I disagree.


Just like they refuse to see SA as the best team and some have even said that should the Boks win a third WC in a row, they will still not be the best team ever. Even if they win every game between now and the WC. That is some serious hate coming SA's way.


Everyone forget how the McCaw AB's intimidated refs, was always on the wrong side, played on the ground etc. Things they would never have gotten away with today. They may have a better win ratio, but SA build depth, not caring about rank inbetween WC's until this year.


They weren't as bad inbetween as people claim, because non e of their losses was big ones and they almost never faced the strongest Bok team outside of the WC, allowing countries like France and Ireland to rise to the top unopposed.


Rassie is still at it, building more depth, getting more young stars into the fold. By the time he leaves (I hope never) he will leave a very strong Bok side for the next 15- 20 years. Not everyone will play for 20 years, but each year Rassie acknowledge the young stars and get them involved and ready for international rugby.


Not everyone will make it to the WC, but those 51/52 players will compete for those spots for the WC. They will deliver their best. The future of the Boks is in very safe hands. The only thing that bothers me is Rassie's health. If he can overcome it, rugby looks dark for the rest of the rugby world. He is already the greatest coach in WR history. By the time he retires, he will be the biggest legend any sport has ever seen

4 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
'They smelt it': Scott Robertson says Italy sensed All Blacks' vulnerability

No where to be seen OB!


The crosses for me for the year where (from memory);


This was a really hard one to nail down as the first sign of a problem, now that I've asked myself to think about it. I'd say it all started with his decision to not back form and fit players after all the injuries, and/or him picking players for the future, rather ones that could play right now.


First he doesn't replace Perofeta straight away (goes on for months in the team) after injury against England, second he falls back to Beauden Barrett to cover at fullback against Fiji, then he drops Narawa the obvious choice to have started, then he brings in Jordan too soon. That Barret selection (and to a lesser extent Bell's) set the tone for the year.


Then he didn't get the side up for Argentina. They were blown away and didn't look like they expected a fight and were well beaten despite the scoreline in my opinion. Worst performance of the year in the forth game and..


Basically the same problems were persistent, or even exaggerated, after that with the players he did select not given much of an opportunity, with this year having the most number of unused subs I can remember since the amateur days.


What I think I started to realise early on was that he didn't back himself and his team. I think he prepared the players well, don't get me wrong, but I'll credit him with making a conscious choice in tempering his ambition and instead choosing cohesion and to respect (the idea of it being important in himself and his players) experience first and foremost (after two tight games and that 4th game loss). I think he chose wrong in deciding not to be, and back, himself. Hard criticism.


And it played out by preferring Beauden to Dmac on the EOYT (though that may have been a planned move).


I hope I'm right, because going through all the little things of the season and coming up with these bullets, I've got to wonder when I say his last fault is one we have seen at the Crusaders, playing his best players into the ground. What I'm really scared of now is that not wanting a bit of freshness in this last game could be linked with all these other crosses that I want to put down to simple confidence issues. But are they really a sign that he just lacks vision?


Now, that's not to say I haven't seen a lot of positives as well, I just think that for the ABs to go where they want to go he has to fix these crosses. Just have difficult that will be is the question.

24 Go to comments
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