Townsend Focusing On Strength In Depth In The Scotland Team

Gregor Townsend had a kind of reputation that he changed his starting Glasgow XV more frequently in comparison to his underpants, however, the new national coach has a different version of that, according to Townsend, and he couldn’t afford the tactic of the same kind in Scotland.


In a squad announcement Townsend he gave the fact that in the next eight games, that team is going to play, it will play with the World’s top teams and we have to put the best team that we have out there,”.

“During the tournament, the team is going to play with six teams out of the eight top teams all over the world. The team is going to play seven games in the tournament. The seventh team is the South Africa, which is not among the top eight. Therefore, in the fixture, we want to put out our best team.”

“The way the team has performed during the last matches, there is no way we can do experiments. To beat Samoa we need our best team and also to build momentum of all positive, before the game of All Blacks.”

There is a doubt prevails everywhere, that team of Scottish rugby takes a healthier and happier position than it has enjoyed before. The main reason for this is the invasion of talent on a regular basis from the academies.

According to the coach, he not only needs the good number of performing players, those who has the passion for rugby, but also he wanted to create a depth in the team. All he wants is every corner of the team should be strong enough to beat any team.

This is the reason that coach always tries to change faces in the team. His objective is to create the best Scottish team.

SCOTLAND RUGBY TEAM GETS PREPARED TO FACE FIJI

The Scotland rugby team is set to challenge their friends in Fiji in a friendly foe, from their point of view as the players are still on a high after their victory in Australia in the weekend, the priority of inside knowledge may trigger a little their way.


Five years ago when Scotland visited Fiji, Matawalu came to the attention of the Scotland set-up.

Gregor Townsend, then newly installed as the Glasgow head coach offered him a deal. It took the player a few months to settle but once he was unleashed he quickly established himself as one of the most dangerous attacking threats in European rugby and just as quickly became a firm crowd favourite at Scotstoun.

“Which I was growing up, as a crazy rugby lover I always enjoyed watching them play,” Strauss said.

“They play entertaining rugby and possess big hitters in their squad. When playing against them you pray they don’t hit you hard, therefore we have to make sure our defense is not faulty or mistaking anything.”

He also noted that they were an exciting team to go up against and for him, it would be an uncommon experience during the weekend as he and his fellow teammates go on all out against a full Fijian team.

This is not a suggestion that Scotland should be seen as anything other than people’s favorites.

They have only lost once to Fiji, back in the disastrous 1998 tour, and know the Islanders struggled to beat the Italian side the Scots had put away with some comfort the week before.

Strauss noted that his team mates would be aching to show off their abilities and play to their structures in the game.

He however noted that it might not be an easy game for them after all.

Scotland Rugby And Mitsubishi

Scotland rugby team has a new sponsor in Mitsubishi.


The company pledged their active support for rugby in the country. They have gained the title of official partner as well as sponsor of Schools and Youth Conference.

There was much fanfare after the deal was finalized. The rugby team captain along with other team members at Murrayfield were found to be posing for photos with representatives of the sponsor company. The marquee will support the game at all levels as well as help training programs for the grassroots levels as well as sponsor professional players. The car giant dealer network from Japan will be working closely with the rugby clubs of the country. The partnership will comprise of kits for schools and clubs. This is a scheme that will provide access to training kits and vehicles will also be provided for the development staff to use as they travel from Glasgow to borders or to Ayrshire. This deal will reinforce the links of Scottish Rugby with Japan. Coincidentally the country will be hosting the Rugby World Cup in the year 2019. Due to the partnership being formed in Scotland will host the pre tournament training camp to be held in Nagasaki.

The managing director of the company stated that they were excited by the new partnership deal that has been finalized. It would help the company to be associated with the future of Scottish Rugby. The support in a youth sports initiative showcases the commitment to innovation and change that the business believes in. The involvement of the company in Scottish Rigby will also help them associate themselves with Rugby World Cup to be held in Japan in the year 2019. The chief operating officer stated that the fleet of vehicles that would support the teams will help promote the association of the brand with the game across the nation.

ENGLAND TO FACE SCOTLAND IN WELLINGTON SEVENS

The opening day of the Wellington Sevens saw England finish up with three impressive victories.


So they would be facing Scotland in a quarter final match.

Papua New Guinea were thrashed 40-0 by the Simon Amor led side. Argentina got beaten 26-7, while Kenya managed to finish with a 31-12 loss. Thus, the England team finished on top of Pool A. They now are on course for a final showdown with South Africa.

Tom Mitchell, England’s captain spoke about the games so far, noting that it has been quite long since they played.

“We were trying to build through the day today. It has been a long time since we last played and it was a case of getting through our rustiness early on.”

In all three victories by England, Mitchell scored tries, thus reaching a 1,000 series points. He went on to make a comment about their next game with the Scotland Rugby Team, and how it could turn out to be a tough game.

“Scotland next. We know them very well and we are pretty close with them after training with some of them for the Olympic Games. It’s always a fierce game with them and it’ll be a tough one,” he said.

In Pool B, the Olympic Champions, Fiji, were defeated by South Africa 31-12. South Africa remains unbeaten at the top of Pool B. They also thrashed Japan 33-0, and battered Australia 28-0.

At the first tournament in Dubai, South Africa had won the final after beating Fiji at Dubai. However, in their home tournament, they lost to England in the final game 19-17, last month in Cape Town.

At the top of Pool C, is New Zealand, after they thumped Samoa 33-0 and went on to defeat France 21-14. They also beat the United States 24-12.

THREE WINS IN SIX NATIONS POSSIBLE – STUART HOGG

It is the belief of Stuart Hogg that the time has finally come for Scotland to shine in the RBS 6 Nations as he hopes that his team would keep their concentration high and continue working hard as well.


The full back for the Dark Blues is in high spirits and full of hope for the campaigns next year, following a round off of the year on a high note with an encouraging autumn series.

After a narrow loss to Australia, the Scots followed up with a win over Argentina and Georgia as well.

Following several let downs in the Six Nations, Hogg now believes that it is possible for his Vern Cotter’s led side to register no less than three wins which would be their first since 2016.

Hogg had scored twice during the six-try 46-16 demolition of the Georgians last Saturday, in the game played at Rugby Park. He said,

“Is this our time? I believe so. We’ll just keep concentrating on ourselves, we’ll keep grounded, and we’ll keep working hard.

“Hopefully everyone can stay fit and come Six Nations time we’ll all have some good form under our belt. That will increase competition.

“We fully believe each other and will back the coaching staff over the hill and back. We’re ready.”

“Can we get achieve something like three wins in the Six Nations? I believe so. We’ve got good depth in our team. Everyone is competing for places which makes training a lot, lot better.” He concluded.

For the first time since 2010, Scotland ends the year with a lot more victories than losses and Hogg believes that the new crop of youngsters such as Ali Price, Alan Dell, and ZanderFagerson currently striving to break into the team gives them more hope.

Townsend To Coach Scotland From June 2017

The fans of the Scottish international rugby team will see the field coach of the Glasgow Warriors, Gregor Townsend, to be at the helm of affairs of the coaching job of the Scotland team since June 2017.

He will be replacing the current Scotland team’s head coach Vern Cotter just after the end of the 2016-17 season.

Vern’s contract as the head coach of the Scottish international rugby union team ends in June 2017 and from then on the team will be coached by Townsend. As the current job of Gregor as the head coach of the Glasgow Warriors team ends after the 2016-17 season, the Scottish Rugby thought it wise to instill this former Scottish international as the head coach. His experience and his presence could take the team to greater heights and glory in the next season.

Townsend has huge experiencing coaching the Guinness Pro12 side Glasgow warriors for the past four seasons. He has led the team to the playoffs in each of these four seasons and this is quite a remarkable achievement. His team went on to win the league time in 2015 and this was the first time that a Scottish professional side could achieve this feat.

Townsend is one of the most popular and respected coaches in the Northern Hemisphere and Scotland boys will only gain a lot by having Gregor by their side. He has always been a target for many of the European rugby teams given that he is a very able and smart coach. Scotland must be happy to have roped him as the coach of their national side.
The Chief executive of Scottish Rugby, Mark Dodosn, said that the team is mightily impressed with the abilities of Gregor as a head coach and they are happy to have the most sought after coach in the game to be coaching his homegrown boys.

Scotland Rugby Teams Clear Off Differences

It might seem ironical but often teams with a common base have more in conflict than teams of different regions, for instance the conflicts that arose between Scottish Rugby and London Scottish.

Both the teams had some differences but now they have resolved the matter. It has been decided that Sean Lineen will second London Scottish as decided before. The partnership between the two teams has been resurrected and will continue for the next season. The governing body however, has committed to a small financial commitment to the partnership.

There had been concerns raised by SRU about the financial inputs for both clubs. However, the conflicts have been blown over and it is now being agreed upon that the concerns are legitimate and need to be addressed. The relationship between the two teams started off in January as a trail. Sean Lineen was to be the director of rugby for the partnership.

He is known to spearhead the age grade program of Scotland as well. There are a handful of players who have been taken on loan from different teams and Roddy Grant would be the coaching staff who had served as a forward for Scotland team before.

The recent agreement shows that the governing body would be getting eight players on loan than the standard 14. The team also wishes to clear off the air of doubt about the partnership that might be throwing a cloud on the possibilities of the team. The partnership hopes to provide opportunities for the players to play at Championship levels. The concerns raised by the Scottish Rugby are being considered but at the same time, the partnership will be moving ahead and preparing the players for matches in the future. Scotland teams and enthusiasts can look forward to more opportunities as a result of this partnership.

BT to sponsor Scotland Rugby Team

The Scottish Rugby Union or SRU has announced that their principal sponsor BT will be replacing the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group as the new sponsor on the jerseys of the national teams including the men’s Scotland Rugby Team.

The three year deal signed between the two parties will see yet another new jersey to be unveiled for the national team and signals the end of a four year association with the RBS Group which will now become the SRU’s official banking partner.

July 2013 saw BT sign an agreement to place their name on the shirts of both the Edinburgh Rugby and the Glasgow Warriors, the only two professional clubs in Scotland and also furthered their sponsorship deal with the SRU by buying the naming rights for the fabled Murrayfield stadium a few months later. BT also became the principal sponsor for the country’s domestic league and cup competitions as well as the three regional academies.

Already a sponsor for the Scotland Sevens team, this new deal sees the BT logo appear on the jersey of the Scotland Rugby Team for both the men’s and women’s national team as well as the three age grade teams with the Scotland Under-20 team becoming the first team to sport the new logo during the World Rugby Under 20 Championship which takes place in June.

Dominic McKay, the director of commercial operations for the SRU has stated that he is delighted to unveil BT as the new shirt sponsor for the Scotland Rugby Team in all levels and added that he hopes that this is the beginning of a long and prosperous association between the two parties.
He added that BT is already their principal partner and this added investment brings more good news for fans of Scottish Rugby as well.

Scotland Rugby Team Disappointed After Losing To Italian Rugby Team

Scotland Rugby team had to face hard times before but it was never as bad as it is at present.

The Scotland Rugby team was defeated in their match against Italy which was held on Saturday, 28th February at Murrayfield Stadium. The final score of the Scottish team was 19 while that of their opponent, Italy was 22.

The defeat is being considered by some as humiliating for the Scottish team. As a result of losing that match, the Scotland Rugby Team is currently at the lowest position in the League Table of 2015 Six Nations Rugby.

Before this match the team was certain that good days for Scottish Rugby lay ahead but they can’t say that now. The 53 years old Vernon Cotter from New Zealand is, at present, the coach of the Scottish Rugby Team. The team is at present in a very bad position.

They will be in Twickenham after fourteen days to compete against England for the Calcutta Club. The team lost a match to the Italian Rugby Team in their home ground once before and the repetition of the same in this year’s Six Nations is obviously quite embarrassing for the team. In this match, the Scottish Rugby team was likely to become the winner but eventually the Italian Rugby team got the better of them.

The 29 years old Greig Laidlaw, who is the captain of the Scottish team, has said that it was indeed a very disappointing experience for him. He said that their start was indeed very good but they committed a number of mistakes on the field which were taken advantage of by the opponent team on account of which it became easier for the Italian Rugby team to become the winner. He said that in the beginning their lead was good enough for them to win the match comfortably. He said that the team is disappointed at this defeat

Former Scotland Rugby Team player Rennie announces retirement

Ross Rennie, the former Scotland Rugby Team player has announced his retirement from all forms of the game following a failure to recover from a neck injury he suffered three months back.

The flanker, who was a part of the Rugby Football Union Championship club Bristol Rugby has announced that he took this decision after consultation with his doctors and specialists as well as the club.

His retirement comes as a huge blow to the promotion chasing Bristol team as he was one of the stars of the team and although hampered by injury during his one year at the club, Rennie scored seven tries in 13 appearances for the club and when on song, he was one of their biggest assets.

Rennie, who earned 20 caps for the Scotland Rugby Team, said that it was a great privilege for him to play rugby, a game he loves to the core, on a professional level, adding that he takes with him some great memories as a player and these are something that he will cherish for a long time.
The Scotsman also thanked the players, support staff and coaches and the fans at Bristol Rugby, saying that it was one of the best experiences of his life.

Andy Robinson, the Director of Rugby at Bristol, who brought him to the club after working with him for both the Scotland Rugby Team and Edinburgh Rugby, said that it was a shame that such a promising career was cut short at such a young age.

He added that he has worked with Rennie since he was very young and he could safely say that at his peak, Rennie was the best open side flanker in the Northern Hemisphere, a player that was truly world class and it’s unfortunate he had to retire early.