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The Gregor Townsend verdict on his new-look Scotland back three

By PA
Scotland boss Gregor Townsend arrives for last weekend's win over Fiji (Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images)

Gregor Townsend has explained he has full faith in the makeshift Scotland back three to handle the challenge of facing world champions South Africa on Sunday. Injuries sustained by wing Darcy Graham and full-back Kyle Rowe in last weekend’s 57-17 win over Fiji have forced the head coach into a reshuffle.

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Glasgow back Tom Jordan, predominantly a stand-off, has been selected to make his first international start at full-back a week after making his Test debut off the bench. Blair Kinghorn, who has become Scotland’s first-choice full-back since the retirement of Stuart Hogg, will shift to the wing, where he has been used for Toulouse this term.

“Obviously with losing Darcy and now Kyle, that got us thinking about what is the right combination,” said Townsend. “We had always looked at a 6/2 bench split for the Springboks, and Tom became someone that we would want to include in a match day 23.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

Video Spacer

The 20-min red card explained by referee Karl Dickson

Referee Karl Dickson explains the 20-min red card system that is in place during the Autumn Nations Series.

“With his ability to play 10, 13, and also 15, we had thought that he could operate there at Test level. We didn’t think he would get that opportunity so quickly in his Test career. On his debut, I thought he was excellent. He was very brave.

“His position in the backfield has always been good when he has played at 10 for Glasgow. We know he is going to work really hard. With Blair having played a lot of rugby on the wing, not just over his career but this season, we feel that it is the best combination this weekend.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

4
Wins
4
1
Streak
3
30
Tries Scored
20
114
Points Difference
72
4/5
First Try
4/5
3/5
First Points
3/5
4/5
Race To 10 Points
4/5

The additions of Jordan and Kinghorn are two of four changes to the team that started the Fiji game, with Ben White and Finn Russell replacing the half-back partnership of Ali Price and Adam Hastings.

Eleven of the 15 players who started the Rugby World Cup pool-stage meeting between the teams in Marseille 14 months ago have been given the nod by Townsend to start again on Sunday.

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The head coach is confident lessons learned from that 18-3 defeat will stand Scotland in good stead as they aim to stem an eight-game losing run against the Springboks since their last triumph in the fixture in 2010.

“It’s exciting to be able to go to a game where you know you are taking on the world champions and it’s going to be a sell-out,” said Townsend. “You know that you’re going to have to play your best rugby to be in the game.

“It’s got everybody’s minds focused and the players are really relishing this opportunity. In the first game of the World Cup, there is probably more emotion that goes through the players’ minds about how important that game was, not only as a one-off game but our chances in the World Cup.

“The fact that we have played them, the players have felt what it is like to go up against the Springboks, from whatever area of the game is relevant to them. But also there is a lot of changes since then. Changes in maybe how we play, but certainly how they have played since the World Cup.

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“They are very innovative around what they want to do off set-piece, and they move the ball wide. They will play at pace, they will play much more of an open game, which wasn’t so much the case in the World Cup.

“Something that we really respect about the South African team is their consistency. They have delivered time and time again.”

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J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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