Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson has insisted that the prospect of future progress, not past achievements, will determine whether he offers Gregor Townsend a new contract as Scotland’s head coach.
Dodson told BBC Scotland’s Rugby Podcast that he had been “pleased but not delighted” with the national team’s third place in this year’s Six Nations Championship, achieved thanks to victories over England, Wales and Italy.
But he accepted that the players themselves wanted Townsend to stay on. The 49-year-old coach, who has been in the job since taking over from Vern Cotter in 2017, is only contracted until after this autumn’s Rugby World Cup in France.
“This is a crucial decision for the union. We’re now at the closing stages. We’ve had a process this time – which Gregor has been aware of – looking at what is the right voice to take us forward from 2023 onwards,” Dodson said. “It’s been less about Gregor’s track record in what he’s done in tournaments up until the Six Nations and about what’s right for this group of players, who are going to be in transition from ’23 to ’27. What’s the right voice?
“As part of that we’ve done a huge amount of due diligence. We’ve spoken to coaches all over the globe about how they see Scotland and, if they were able to do the job, how would they undertake the task. We’ve finished that due diligence process.
“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. 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.
“This is entirely expected. It’s not his first rodeo and it’s not mine, we understand this is the way the world works. I’m speaking to Gregor this week and we’ll see where we go.”
After leading Glasgow to the PRO12 title in 2015, Townsend was a coach in demand, and could easily have found work in France, where he spent five years as a player. But he decided that, with then-Warriors players such as Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell approaching their peak, the time was right to take charge of Scotland. He accepted an offer to do so in the summer of 2016, taking office a year later once Cotter’s contract had expired.
“We know how the players feel,” Dodson continued. “The players have thrived under Gregor, we’re aware of that. What I’ve got to do and what [SRU performance director] Jim Mallinder’s got to do, we’ve got to zone all that out – what the supporters feel, what the websites feel, what the players feel almost – and actually take a holistic view, coolly and dispassionately and have a look on paper. What is the best voice to take us forward?
“How do we improve? How do we stop this being a glass ceiling? How do we get to the next level?
“If we believe that is Gregor or we believe that is somebody else, that’s the job I’m paid to do. In terms of support for Gregor inside the camp, that’s pretty clear.
“We’ve known each other a long time. We haven’t always seen eye to eye over things. We have a very good working relationship, but he’s his own man and I’m mine. The most important thing is there’s a trust and a belief we will do things the right way.”
Townsend said in January that he had been approached by France about working with their national team, but denied a rumour linking him to Leicester Tigers.
“I did get a call from France to see if I would be interested,” he said at a pre-Championship press conference. “I said I was not prepared to go into any discussions until after the Six Nations. I have had no contact with Leicester. At all. People may want to get in contact with you or your agent because they know your contract is up and, yes, my contract is coming to an end at the end of the year.”
Auckland Blues coach Leon MacDonald is understood to be one of the potential alternatives to Townsend, who said after the win over Italy that he wanted to continue in the post.
“I would like to stay on at this stage, but this is probably not the time to be answering these questions,” he said. “I’ve indicated that I need some time to reflect and have some time off.”
