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Four takeaways from Townsend’s Scotland Six Nations squad
By Bryn Palmer
If the ‘Toonie tombola’ has not quite been put into permanent cold storage, there is less unpredictability these days than in previous years when head coach Gregor Townsend unveils a Scotland squad.
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While there is movement in some areas, most notably in the second row, for the most part there is a settled look to Townsend’s frontline operators as they build towards the visit of Italy for their Six Nations opener on 1 February.
But the group for the forthcoming championship still contained several elements of intrigue, including a first call-up for the latest ‘kilted Kiwi’ Fergus Burke, and something of a ‘bolter’ in greenhorn Glasgow No.8 Jack Mann after just seven senior games.
RugbyPass and other media representatives sat down with Townsend to discuss some of the main talking points to emerge from his 37-man squad.
Burke had no hesitation committing to Scotland
Born in Gisborne on New Zealand’s North Island, former Crusaders fly-half Burke was brought up with both English and Scottish heritage, the latter a grandfather from Glasgow.
Highly rated back home, his move to Saracens was widely lamented in Christchurch, where he was seen as a natural successor to the departed Richie Mo’unga.
Townsend has been tracking his progress for some time, but it was only a few days ago that Burke was forced to fully commit when the Scotland supremo rang to say he was planning to name him in the squad.
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Some dual-qualified players such as Bath’s Cameron Redpath, who previously played for England Under-18s, have taken their time to make a decision but Burke didn’t hesitate when asked the question.
“I said I’m announcing the squad on Wednesday and we’d love you to be in it,” Townsend reported. “He said, ‘yeah, it would be a privilege’. It wasn’t a case of ‘I’ll get back to you tomorrow’, it was ‘yes’ straight away, which was great to hear.
“We know it’s not an easy decision at times. We know people need time to think over this commitment, but it’s great he has committed to us and I’m sure he’ll really add to our squad. We feel now’s the right time for him.”
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Burke has started 11 of Saracens’ 13 games this season at No.10, scoring five tries including doubles against Northampton and Bristol over the last month.
While Finn Russell will still hold the conductor’s baton, Townsend believes the 25-year-old newcomer, alongside Tom Jordan, will add another attacking option in the pivot role.
“He’s got to adjust to our group, but from the conversations I’ve had with him around the game and also how I’ve seen him play, I think he will adjust quite quickly as a stand-off. He obviously knows the game really well and what a different attack shape might look like, and why we would be doing that and his role within it.
“We want any player coming into our squad to bring their strengths out. Fergus has got strengths around running an attack, but also delivering an individual attacking game. He’s a very good runner of the ball, he can also play full-back, so we want him getting opportunities to take on the defence.”
No Gray areas – ‘big personality’ Jonny will be welcomed back
One more cap would see Jonny Gray, joint-10th in Scotland’s all-time list, move beyond Jason White and Nathan Hines, who also have 77. Two more would draw him level with elder brother Richie, whose international renaissance ended with his move to Japan.
But the last time Gray played a Test was in March 2023, before a serious knee injury playing for Exeter saw him miss the whole of last season, including the Rugby World Cup.
Having moved to Bordeaux over the summer and shown good form in the early part of the campaign, Gray – in conjunction with his club – turned down the chance to return to the Test fold last autumn in order to rest over the international window.
At the time Townsend sounded a bit miffed, calling it “disappointing from our perspective,” and suggesting any future call-ups would “depend if others grab their opportunities” in the 30-year-old’s absence.
Max Williamson did just that, the young Glasgow lock impressing particularly as an early replacement against South Africa before suffering a thumb injury that required surgery. On the verge of a comeback, Willamson re-injured the same thumb in training last week, with Townsend lamenting that “he’s going to miss the whole Six Nations now”.
But the coach insisted there was no need to rebuild bridges with Bordeaux over Gray’s participation, saying any previous irritation stemmed from coming straight off the phone to the player and his club immediately before speaking to the media last October.
“I think it was more the timing… the frustration that Bordeaux had a plan – and they’re right to have a plan – and we weren’t expecting it, let’s say, after the conversations we’d been having.
“But I’ve coached Jonny for a number of years. I really love him as a person as well. He’s not been in our squad for a while so we’re looking forward to having him back in. He’s a big personality, has a great sense of humour and what he brings in a rugby context with his work-rate, his toughness and also his experience… he’s playing for the leading team in France and they’re playing a really good brand of rugby that he’s a part of.”
Gray is recovering from a recent ankle injury but Townsend said the lock may return for Bordeaux either this weekend or next, and will be fit to train with Scotland from next week in the fortnight before they face Italy.
Resilient Jack the coming Mann…despite his inexperience
Jack Mann has been on Townsend’s radar ever since a superb debut for Glasgow in a European Challenge Cup win over Bath at The Rec in December 2022.
But a concussion picked up later in that match – his third of that particular year – led to him being stood down for the best part of 12 months. When he came back the following December, two weeks later – in his own words – “my ankle got blown to pieces”.
He did return towards the end of last season but had to wait until 29 November – a shade over six weeks ago – for his second senior start, 720 days after his first.
The 25-year-old has certainly been making up for lost time and hasn’t been out of the Warriors’ match-day 23 since, starting their last four games including a URC double-header with Edinburgh and Champions Cup games against Toulon and Racing 92.
Last Friday was only his seventh senior outing, excelling in the absence of Glasgow’s first-choice No.8 Jack Dempsey, who is expected to make his own comeback this weekend.
If Mann’s inclusion in the Six Nations squad may be partly down to the ankle injury which has ruled out Edinburgh’s Ben Muncaster, Townsend said his startling recent progress had already put him in the discussion.
“It’s unlucky that Ben’s missed out, but we were really excited about Jack two years ago when he played that game down at Bath and just looked like a player that’s got so much to bring – his ball carrying, his defensive ability, post-tackle as well as in the tackle – and he’s now shown that. It’s been great that he’s been playing regularly.
“That was a physical pack (Racing’s) he was up against and he looked strong. He had a big influence in the game.
“I can only imagine how tough it was for Jack to go through that period where he had to stand down, where he maybe, I’m sure, considered that his rugby career was ending. But to have played so well over the last few weeks and now be in the Scotland squad, it’s worth it, all those tough times. He’s shown real resilience and it’s great to have someone with that experience and that toughness coming into our group.”
No Farrell but ‘you can’t write off Ireland’ – and France will be formidable
Scotland’s fixtures suggest that if they overcome Italy in their opener, the home game against Ireland – who Townsend’s teams have yet to beat in 10 previous meetings – on 9 February holds the key to whether the Scots can unlock their undoubted potential and launch a serious challenge for a first Six Nations title.
But when this suggestion was put to the former fly-half, he was – perhaps unsurprisingly – having none of it.
“No, Italy is the key, and then Ireland is the key, and then England (Scotland’s third game),” Townsend said. “We’re definitely not going to be looking further ahead than our first game.
“Italy are a quality side. They beat us last year, they beat Wales away from home, they drew with France, they were within a few points of England as well. So we know Italy are getting better and better. It’s a young group that’s now learning, not through just experiences of playing, but of winning. So that is a very tough game for us.”
Townsend, publicly at least, also doesn’t hold much truck with the view that Ireland, under interim head coach Simon Easterby, might be more vulnerable than usual with Andy Farrell on his Lions sabbatical.
“Head coaches don’t make much difference, if you ask me!” he quipped. “But in many ways, Ireland are in the perfect scenario of people writing them off. Maybe they weren’t as happy with their performances in November as they would have been in the past – but you can’t write them off.
“Leinster are still the strongest team arguably in Europe right now. They beat La Rochelle away from home, they’re top of the URC. That (Ireland) team is built around Leinster, the team has won championships and Grand Slams, and players are now coming back available for them that were injured.
“They’ll be really, really strong. France will be much stronger this year than they were last year, mainly because one guy (scrum-half Antoine Dupont) is back available for them, but also when you see how the French teams are playing.
“They have some amazing nines that can’t get anywhere near the squad because they’ve got the world’s best player at nine. You’ve got Bordeaux and Toulouse both beating Exeter by 60 points, they’re putting big scores up on quality sides. France are going to be really strong this year. It’s going to be a really competitive championship.”
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