His current deal expires after this year’s Rugby World Cup and it looks likely that he will be asked to remain in post beyond the tournament which ends on October 28.

Townsend, 49, has seen his future being played out increasingly in public, with Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson telling a podcast aired this week that he had “spoken to coaches all over the globe” about the possibility of replacing him. Warren Gatland is the latest name Dodson is said to have sounded out and he is also understood to have held discussions with Leon MacDonald, the Auckland Blues coach.

Speaking after last month’s Six Nations win over Italy, Townsend said he would take some time to reflect on his future before resuming talks with Dodson. When asked directly if he wanted to remain in post, he offered a positive but qualified response. “Yes, at this stage, but it’s not the time to be answering these questions when you’re just off a victory, the crowd are behind the team and you’re connected with the players,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, but I don’t want to commit to anything just now. There’s conversations that have started and they’ll start up again after some time off. We’ll see how they develop.”

Gregor Townsend is in talks about his future as Scotland coach. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The Scotsman understands that the discussions over his future are still ongoing and Townsend will not be short of offers of his own. He confirmed before the Six Nations that there had been an approach from France after a report claimed he was a contender for the role of attack coach with the French national team. A number of clubs are also believed to be monitoring his situation.

With the contract due to expire, Dodson – whose own deal expires in June 2025 – acknowledged that Townsend was free to talk to other parties just as the chief exec was entitled to speak to potential candidates about taking over after the World Cup. “I was clear with Gregor right from the get-go that this is what we were going to do – we were going to talk to coaches all over the world,” Dodson told the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast. “He was also free to talk to people about his own future, and things have come out about conversations that have happened in France and potentially elsewhere.”

Townsend is in his sixth season in charge and enjoys the best win ratio of any Scotland coach in the professional era. He won three of five matches in this year’s Six Nations, including a third win in a row over England, something that had not been done for 51 years.

Gregor Townsend's Scotland future: Talks to continue amid report of two-year contract offer