Scotland Coach Townsend Discusses Fiji Match, Player Selection, and Team Cohesion

Scotland’s head coach, Gregor Townsend, addressed the media following the announcement of his squad for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series opener against Fiji. Key takeaways from his remarks include: Townsend anticipates a “physical” Fiji team possessing “terrific individual skills” and an unprecedented level of “cohesion,” largely attributed to the majority of their players competing together for Fijian Drua in Super Rugby. Ali Price’s selection was based on the fact that “he’s in the best form right now,” leading to his inclusion ahead of “unlucky” Glasgow scrum-halves George Horne and Jamie Dobie. Furthermore, Townsend noted that there “were a number of close calls” in selection, yet he acknowledged the team is a “settled side” featuring “combinations that play a lot together for us.” He confessed to experiencing “sleepless nights” concerning the impending retirements of WP Nel and Simon Berghan, but expressed relief due to the emergence of Elliot Millar Mills and Will Hurd, as well as D’Arcy Rae, who has been “at the heart of” Edinburgh’s scrum. An experienced XV was chosen by Townsend with the aim of allowing “players to get up to speed with Test rugby” in preparation for the upcoming match against South Africa next week. The head coach conveyed his excitement regarding Darcy Graham’s return to the squad after nearly a year without a cap due to injury, and the inclusion of Tom Jordan in the Scotland team.