Scotland’s Head Coach Reflects on 59-21 Victory Over Portugal

Scotland’s head coach, Gregor Townsend, conveyed to Sportsound his assessment of Portugal’s performance, stating: “I thought [Portugal] were really good, they brought line speed in defence. “They were physical and if a team plays ambitious rugby, there’ll be times when they break you. They were very fit. Sometimes you wear a team down and space opens up more, but they kept on going.” Townsend continued, expressing satisfaction with the outcome: “We’re pleased with the result. There’ll be areas where we can improve but credit to Portugal for being a tough opponent today. We had to work out what the defence was doing, and it worked our way. We worked hard, created extra numbers.” He also noted aspects for development, adding: “We didn’t kick on as much in the second half, didn’t have as much possession, we’re frustrated we kicked the ball away in the 22 a few times. It was a solid performance.” The coach conveyed particular satisfaction for debutants: “Really pleased for those playing for Scotland at Murrayfield for the very first time, those making their first caps. You could see how committed they were and they put their bodies on the line.” Regarding individual player performance, Townsend commented on Tom Jordan: “[Tom Jordan] is learning all the time about fullback, today he got the ball in more space so it’s how he links up with those around him and he did that well.” He provided an update on player fitness: “Most of the guys got through the game, Alex Samuel failed his HIA. Hopefully he’ll make a quick recovery. Everyone else seems good so that’s a positive.” Looking ahead to the upcoming fixture, Townsend discussed Australia: “We’ve had some really good games against Australia over the last few years, tight games mainly. They play rugby too, Joe Schmidt’s teams always try and keep possession.” He further elaborated on the challenge posed by Australia: “Last week [against England] showed they can offload, through one individual in particular! This week they have [Samu] Kerevi and [Will] Skelton back. They’re a quality side with all the players they wanted to select available. We know they’re a top five side and we’ll have to play our best rugby to win.”