Scotland's hopes of progress could rest on the partnership of Siona Tuipulotu (left) and Finn Russell. Photo: Getty Images/Fred Palmer
The hope is that the intoxicating on-field action may distract from that, but the World Cup draw will continue to look ridiculous in the coming weeks. And it is Scotland that has the biggest claim.
Had the groups been based on rankings just two months after the early close on January 1, 2020, Gregor Townsend's men would have jumped out of the third group of teams, leapfrogging Japan and moving up from ninth to eighth place. As it happened, they faced «the toughest scenario of all» with South Africa and Ireland, who finished first and fifth in Groups One and Two respectively, joining them in Group B.
Their subsequent rise to fifth place proved irrelevant in the context of the World Cup, although it should inspire confidence. Keen to see his side cross the English Channel fearlessly, giving new meaning to Scotland the Bold, Townsend provided a history lesson to frame the campaign.
“We certainly encourage our players to play wider,” he explains. “I used a story from the Napoleonic Wars, where British admirals were encouraged to be more ambitious and aggressive. The phrase “pour encouragement les autres,” meaning “to encourage others,” originated from these naval battles. If an admiral was not ambitious enough, he would often be shot to encourage others to be more ambitious.
“It's definitely a theme for us: when in doubt, we go wide. In the past, teams may have thought, “When in doubt, we’ll slow the process down and reschedule.” I believe that our superpowers come out when we play an active game, and I also believe that this is where gaming is trending now.”
While many would argue that defensive teams have more influence over those in possession, largely due to how the breakdown is judged, Townsend lays out the opposite philosophy quite succinctly.
“The pictures we see in training are what guide us: did we work hard, did we execute, did we have players ready to attack the space?” He says. “The defense can be well organized, but the advantage will go to the attack if you do the right thing. If you don't, the advantage will go back to the defense and they will have a chance to take the ball away from you. We want to make sure that we work hard to communicate where the space is and then act when it appears, rather than waiting for the next stage when we are better organized.
“Because , if we are better organized, more than likely the defense is better organized and your advantage is gone.»
A tough and skilled flock will, of course, have to lay the foundation and establish a phase form. However, their superbly balanced back line looks set to be Scotland's ticket to the play-offs. Although the obvious commander is Finn Russell, who will never get shot due to lack of ambition or aggression, it makes sense to start on the flanks and work inward.
Wings
Since making his debut in October 2020, Doohan van der Merwe has played 31 Tests for Scotland and a further three for the British and Irish Lions. During this time, he beat 173 defenders, which is by far more than anyone on the team. Damian Penaud and Darcy Graham are tied for next place on the Opta list, having evaded 82 opponents each with the ball in hand.
Taking this into account, the expansion makes sense. Van der Merwe and Graham also roam the pitch, maximizing their impact and ensuring Scotland's most dangerous players — indeed, the two most dangerous men in the world — get plenty of touches.
The backs have lost in Test rugby. since Doohan van der Merwe's debut Defenders have lost in Test rugby since Doohan van der Merwe's debut
Townsend points out that Kyle Steyn has played a great Six Nations game this year. Even the retirement of great contemporary Stuart Hogg didn't seem to hurt Scotland. Blair Kinghorn, who has «always been our fastest player and one of the strongest in the room,» is an impressive athlete as well as a good enough distributor to cover half the field.
Although the first warm-up game against Italy was riddled with errors, Josh Bayliss finished the game in satisfactory style. The key to the effective sideline-to-sideline attack was Kinghorn's passing, as well as his ability to move away from the ball and get into smart positions.
Centers
Bringing together a complementary and cohesive Glasgow Warriors The pairing of centers Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones was one of Scotland's flagship selection moves in the build-up to the World Cup, and it was bolder when one considers the value of Chris Harris as an intuitive defensive general in an undershirt. number 13. The latter, Leo in 2021, was sacrificed to select Huvipulota for the 2023 Six Nations. Interestingly, Tuipulotu and Russell are key leaders.
“Sione and Finn are very intelligent rugby players, so the way they talk about what the defense offers spreads very quickly throughout the team,” explains Townsend. «Even if they're not captain and vice-captain, we'd like them to come into the chat and say, 'This is on, this is not on, so we want more X and less Y.'»
Research was the theme of Scotland's extended pre-season preparations, with Townsend taking on a more hands-on role. Paddlers were encouraged to “develop good habits” and become more comfortable on the 15m channels. As for the structure of the preparation for the match, the coaches analyze the opponents, but as the week progresses they become less visible.
Speaking of lineups, Brad Moire and Pete Horn are relatively new additions from an offensive standpoint. The first, with the All Blacks at the start of this World Cup cycle, tends to watch games from the box with Townsend. Horn remains on the pitch side, «talking to the players and watching from the ground.» Both of them were “really valuable” to their head coach.
Flight Time
While Van der Merwe's second try at Twickenham was another example of Scotland's potential, Townsend insists they «didn't pull the trigger enough.» during the Six Nations, especially in the wake of Ireland's shocking defeat.
Russell is their marksman and he played superbly against France in Saint-Etienne last month. He will relish the opportunity to test the edges of South Africa's blitz defense in Sunday night's exciting clash at the Stade Velodrome. Speaking on The Telegraph Sport podcast this week, Nick Evans hailed «one of the best unstructured tens players in the world».
“The way he glides and finds the grass in the backfield and his variability is great,” Evans said of Russell's cultural use of the boot. Chips and dinks are additional tools that can be used to bypass defenses and find space. As a former playmaker, Townsend's most coveted assets speak for themselves. The first thing he looks for is accuracy of passing and «they have to be the strongest players in their team.»
Scrum half
Every week during the summer training camp, Scotland's scrum-halves had to undergo a lung collapse test that lasted about 90 seconds. There were sixteen balls scattered around the field, and each player was asked to complete 12 passes to different targets, as well as four different types of shots. Time penalties were assessed if accuracy fell below the required standard.
Simply put, getting the ball quickly into Russell's hands is the primary – and logical – responsibility of a Scotland scrum-half. However, they can also ease the pressure on their ringmaster by landing accurate kicks and opening holes if the defense widens or leaves space at the edges of the rucks. Ben White, described by Townsend as «a very, very hard worker» and «very competitive», is another back row player who will be included in the squad towards the end of this World Cup cycle. He, Eli Price and George Horne take three places in the semi-finals of the 33-man team.
White captained England Under-20s as recently as 2018 but lost his place at Leicester Tigers when Steve Borthwick brought in Richard Wigglesworth to join Jack van Poortvleet and Ben Youngs. A year later, after White found a cut-price home in London Irish, Townsend invited him to join the Scottish team. White's try at Twickenham during the Six Nations must have been particularly satisfying.
Ben White made his Scotland debut . at Twickenham and thrived in the limelight. Photo: Getty Images/Julian Finney
“Overall, Scotland's defense is ready to revitalize the World Cup. Still, with Townsend under contract until 2026, this tournament is more of a checkpoint than a destination. Complaining about the draw is futile at this stage, not least because Townsend has developed a strategy and storyline to counter the odds.
“The World Cup only comes around every four years and we know we have there's playing better rugby to get out of the pool,” says Townsend. “But this is how we will play after the World Cup.”
“At that time [the draw] upset me, but we knew for a long time that these would be our opponents, and we were preparing to play as best as possible, to fight with South Africa and Ireland, as well as Tonga and Romania,” he adds. «I'm sure South Africa and Ireland won't be too happy with the pool draw because they have very difficult opponents, just like we do.»
The note of defiance at the end is obvious. And this will certainly inspire others.
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