Townsend backed for third World Cup as SRU chief expects ‘positive’ talks

Scottish Rugby’s Alex Williamson anticipates having “really positive” discussions with Gregor Townsend about his future and would be surprised if the Scotland head coach refused to compete in a third World Cup.

Williamson stated in an interview with BBC Scotland that he was interested in keeping the services of Townsend, Franco Smith, of Glasgow Warriors, and Sean Everett, one of his Edinburgh counterparts, as their top coaches currently working in men’s rugby in Scotland. Deals between all three companies are currently in place until 2026.

Although Townsend has been in charge of Scotland since 2017, he has failed to pose a significant threat to silverware despite undoubtedly raising the standard of the national team during his tenure and producing a number of impressive results against some of the world’s best sides.

At the 2019 and 2023 World Cups, the Scots have never finished above third in the Six Nations under Townsend’s watch and have experienced group stage exits.

Townsend, however, believes that he is interested in a third World Cup and that Williamson would be happy to see the former Glasgow coach play for the Australian competition in 2027.

“We will have plenty of time to talk during our summer tour, and it’s common that we value continuity,” said the tour director.

“I thought the Six Nations and the fall saw a lot,” I thought. If we turn our attention to Australia and South Africa, and particularly to England and France, I believe we were only a few points away from winning very big games, and that should give us a lot of excitement.

“The players’ feedback on the quality of the camp and the coaching is still very positive, and I think we should be optimistic about how the men’s national team will fare in this extremely difficult summer tour and then in the fall.”

Since taking over in 2022, Smith has been a resounding success.

In spite of the negative effects of injuries from last year, Warriors still advanced to the Champions Cup quarter-finals and the final four of the URC. He led the club to the European Challenge Cup final in his first season and won the extraordinary United Rugby Championship title in his second.

Smith has been linked to a number of positions throughout the season, most recently the vacant position as Wales’ head coach, but he has not been successful in stifling speculation that he is seeking a new challenge.

We really like all three men’s coaches, according to Williamson, and we want to keep them.

I’m having those conversations right now and will continue them in the coming weeks. But he is a fantastic coach more for Franco than just that. I sincerely hope he will remain because of how amazing he has been working.

We want the best coaches in Scotland, and it would be disappointing if no one was talking about someone of such high caliber as him, and I am actually pleased that he is being approached and that people are talking about him as being a coach for others.

I believe we provide a consistent and precise plan that he will be extremely helpful, and I have great faith in him.

Many people think that Smith will make a good Townsend replacement, but Williamson insists that there hasn’t been any discussion of succession planning.

If you want to fill any gaps when they arise at any level, he said, “I don’t think we need to be looking at our coaching group and saying that we are creating the bench.”

We simply want to make sure that we choose the ideal candidate for that position at the time.

We absolutely have to nail that in terms of continuity around our coaching when we are thinking about how to create a path that will lead to our players being highly competitive in 2031 and 2035, or 2029 and 2033 for the women, because that is what will inspire confidence in them.

After having had a lot of success in a similar capacity in Ireland, Nucifora was hired last year to overhaul Scottish Rugby’s performance department and pathway structures.

Williamson doesn’t anticipate that contract being extended even though he thinks Nucifora may still have some influence given that the Australian’s deal runs until 2026.

“David was appointed with a very specific remit to establish a structure that would enable us to be highly competitive in those World Cups that have already been mentioned,” he said.

He and the rest of the senior team have been putting in a lot of effort to deliver that structure, and David isn’t going to be the guy who breathes life into that structure every day. That is unquestionably someone else.