Australia’s Dave Rennie and Matt Taylor might have the inside gen on Scotland’s players but that can work both ways, says Gregor Townsend.
After successfully negotiating the opening Autumn Series test against Tonga with a thumping 60-14 win, the Scots will welcome back their exiles on Monday and focus on the Wallabies’ visit next Sunday.
Former Glasgow Warriors head coach Rennie and Townsend’s long-serving assistant Taylor are now in charge of Australia. They have a knowledge of the Scots squad arguably greater than some of Townsend’s current assistants.
‘We know the way they want to do things’
“Maybe it will help us, maybe it will help them as well,” said the Scotland head coach. “Matt Taylor worked with me for eight years so he obviously knows a lot of our players.
“Dave worked very closely with many of our players at Glasgow. Petrus du Plessis (the scrum coach) was also at Glasgow and worked a lot with Zander (Fagerson) and other players.
“But we know the way they want to do things, although it’s proving to be successful. Australia have shown they are a good attacking side and they are full of confidence.
“They’ve won five Test matches in a row and they’ve beaten South Africa twice, the No. 1 team in the world.
“There’s obviously some great bonds between ourselves and Australia. We’ve had three or four really close games against them in recent years so we know it’s going to be a very competitive match.”
Cap ceremony in front of families and friends
First caps ✅#AsOne pic.twitter.com/yI77pY9qBb
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 30, 2021
Townsend was most pleased so many new players fitted in well. There were eight new caps, and with no after-match dinner due to Covid, the presentation ceremony was done on the West Stand track after the game. This allowing the players’ families and friends to watch from the stand.
But the head coach is more than aware of the chasm in quality between Saturday’s opposition and next Sunday’s. Discipline and some slips in defence were what particularly concerned him.
“We set very high standards in our defence and at times today it wasn’t at those standards,” he said. “We also have to see how quickly we can integrate the players who are going to come back into the team during the week.”
Absent stars were a huge help
Scotland Autumn Tests 2021: Stuart Hogg ‘re-energised’ after mental and physical recovery
Townsend did pay tribute to those English and French based players who were no eligible for Saturday’s game. They were at Oriam for two days of training in the week which was important, said the coach.
“We had trained well all week, a lot of that was down to the players who weren’t selected for Saturday. Those who had to go back England and France really improved our 15 vs 15, attack vs defence sessions.
“We have an extra day to prepare which will help us for the challenge next Sunday.”
The Scots gave away nine penalties, and anything under 10 is usually acceptable, but Townsend pointed out they were almost all for not rolling away quick enough or offside.
“Attacking is getting rewarded more by referees,” he said. “We knew Nic Berry would be strict on rolling away and he was.
“It certainly wasn’t good enough today. The number of penalties we gave away in that area and for offside, we have to be better next week.”
‘It will feel like a new week’
Highlights of our 60-14 win over Tonga at BT Murrayfield this afternoon.
📺 Watch all our @autumnnations matches live on @primevideosport. pic.twitter.com/fNJDgejsde
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 30, 2021
Captain Stuart Hogg was at the stadium after playing for Exeter on Friday, and presented debutant and fellow Borderer Rufus McLean with his match shirt.
“It will feel like a new week with all the players that will come in available for selection,” said Townsend. “The knowledge we will be playing in front of a sell-out crowd is hugely motivating and you have that competition for places.
“If players are given the opportunity next week they will need to grab it.”