Finn Russell backed to bounce back but no-one is undroppable warns Gregor Townsend
Darcy Graham under consideration for Wallabies match
Gregor Townsend has backed Finn Russell to bounce back against Australia but has warned that no-one is “undroppable” as he contemplates changes in the aftermath of Scotland's defeat by New Zealand on Saturday.
The head coach faces a stick or twist dilemma for next Sunday’s match with the Wallabies at Murrayfield as the Scots look to get their Nations Championship campaign back on track.
Townsend was critical of his team after the 43-21 loss to the All Blacks and made it clear the performance fell below the standards the group had set for itself. He will take the next few days to chew over what needs to change before naming his team on Friday to play Australia.
“There are players who are disappointed with their own performances, but also the team's performance as a whole,” said Townsend.
“We will obviously weigh up the fact it was the first Test match of the season. How much of that was a lack of cohesion and how much would the same group benefit from going again next week?
“But then you've got people that have been training really well and are putting their hands up for selection. So, in terms of making changes, we will see.
‘It wasn’t Finn’s best game’
“It's an eight-day turnaround, so we have got an extra day's recovery compared to Australia, and then we're into a six-day turnaround against Japan.”
Russell was far from his best against New Zealand but that description could be applied to a number of players in the home team. The All Blacks were dominant in the scrum and there was little penetration from the celebrated Scottish backline during the second half.
So long the creative heart of the Scotland team, Russell impressed in flashes in the first 40 minutes but little went his way after the interval and he was replaced by Tom Jordan in the 63rd minute.
“I actually think Finn has been fine for Bath over the first few weeks of the season, but it wasn’t his best game against New Zealand,” said Townsend. “He will know that himself.
“He will be disappointed and he will definitely want to put that right next week. He’s been very, very good for us over a long period. He will want to show that against Australia.”
No player is undroppable, warns Gregor Townsend
While Russell is likely to keep his place, there will almost certainly be changes elsewhere.
“No player is undroppable,” said Townsend. “Everyone knows that. It is a massive privilege to play for your country. But it’s also a professional sport. We need to pick the team we believe can win the match against Australia.
“A lot of the guys who played against New Zealand have also been part of some big victories for us in the past. That will be taken into account.”
Townsend felt Scotland’s performance against the All Blacks fell well below what he has come to expect from this group of players and he compared it unfavourably to some far better display in the Six Nations and in the summer Nations Championship games against Argentina and South Africa.
“As players and coaches, we know we are capable of better than that. We didn’t deliver our best performance against New Zealand, that was clear.
Will underperforming players get a second chance?
“We do have a lot of depth in our squad at the moment. Every time you play for Scotland and you wear that jersey, you have to deliver.
“A lot of players didn’t deliver their best against New Zealand. Will they get another chance to go again next week? That’s a decision we’ll have to look at over the next few days.
“You are always striving for cohesion. We’ve certainly had cohesion recently, both in terms of performances and also in training. But we weren’t good enough at the weekend. We were too inaccurate and our discipline also wasn’t good enough.”
Darcy Graham is in the mix
He said that Darcy Graham would come into consideration for the Australia game as he contemplates changes to the back three. The winger has played only one game for Edinburgh this season due to bicep and calf injuries.
“Darcy has been training and will be back in the mix for next weekend. There’s real competition in that back three, but I’ll probably look at every player to be honest [in terms of changes].
“You either get a chance to go again and show what you can do, or someone else will come in and take your place.”
Despite the hugely physical nature of the All Blacks game, the coach said the players came through largely unscathed.
“I don't think there was anything serious,” he said. “Gregor Brown had a shoulder stinger at the end there but he put in a great effort. So hopefully he turns around quickly, I think everybody else was OK so far.”
Scotland have a good record against Australia under Townsend, winning four out of five, and they will need another victory this weekend if they are to remain on course for the coach’s aim of a top-three finish in the Nations Championship’s Northern Hemisphere table.
“It’s a game we need to win,” he said. “We're playing at home. We definitely want to be better than we showed against New Zealand. But if we want to finish in the top three, then we've clearly got to win our next two games.”
Australia lost heavily twice to New Zealand last month but Townsend rates the current squad as better than the team Scotland beat 27-13 at Murrayfield in 2024.
“I think they've got some really good individuals who have come into their squad. I think it's a healthier squad than when we played them a couple of years ago.
“It seems like they've got a lot of their top line players fit. They're probably playing more rugby. When you think of Australia, they do play rugby and keep hold of the ball.
‘“They've had some Test match experience recently. They played the All Blacks twice, they've played South Africa, they've played Argentina.
“So they've been building cohesion, so yeah, we would expect a tough Test match for sure. Our performance against New Zealand wouldn't be good enough to win against Australia, so we're going to have to be better.”
Scotland 21-43 New Zealand: teams and scorers
Scorers: Scotland: Tries: Ashman 3. Cons: Russell 3. New Zealand: Tries: Sititi, de Groot, Taylor, B Barrett 2, Moorby, Aumua. Cons: McKenzie 4.
Yellow cards: Lakai (NZ, 23min), Sititi (NZ, 33min); Tuipulotu (Sco, 50min).
Scotland: K Rowe (B Kinghorn 52); K Steyn, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, J Dobie; F Russell (T Jordan 63), B White (G Horne 63); R Sutherland (P Schoeman 32), E Ashman (G Hiddleston 66), Z Fagerson (W Hurd 66), G Brown, S Cummings, M Fagerson (J Bayliss 63), R Darge, J Dempsey (M Williamson 52).
New Zealand: B Barrett; W Jordan (R Ioane 53), Q Tupaea, J Barrett (T Tavatavanawai 66), J Moorby; D McKenzie, C Roigard (C Ratima 60); E de Groot (G Bower 49), C Taylor (A Aumua 57), F Newell (P Tosi 63), S Barrett, F Holland, T Vaa'i (C Lio-Willie 71), P Lakai, W Sititi (A Segner 57).
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU).
Attendance: 67,148.
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