Townsend sees no signs of fatigue
GREGOR Townsend dismissed any concerns about his Scotland internationals being left fatigued following a campaign elongated by the World Cup.
Several members of the squad currently preparing to play in their fourth and final match of the summer tour of the Americas against Uruguay in Montevideo on Saturday night were also involved in the pre-World Cup training camp 14 months ago.
Asked about the impact of a schedule built to accommodate the global showpiece in France last autumn, Townsend said: “We check the GPS regularly and players are hitting their top speeds, they’re working really hard to finish the season on a high. And often a change is as good as a rest, going on a tour when you’re going to new venues, like Uruguay this week, it does energise you.
“We’ve seen that energy and there’s also energy from young players coming into the camp and who have changed up the mood in the group as well, so, no, I don’t see any signs of fatigue.”
Scotland have made 13 changes to the side that started last weekend’s 52-11 win over Chile as they go in search of a fourth consecutive tour victory against Uruguay on Saturday, with Kyle Rowe and Ben Healy the only players to retain their place. Huw Jones will win his 50th cap, while Duhan van der Merwe will have the chance to become Scotland’s record try-scorer after drawing level with Stuart Hogg on 27.
Welsh Rugby Union chairman Richard Collier-Keywood says head coach Warren Gatland “has our full support”. Wales have slipped to an all-time low of 11th in the world rankings and finished bottom of the Six Nations for the first time in 21 years and lost a summer Test series 2-0 in Australia. And while the losing run came to an end in an uncapped match against Queensland Reds team, another defeat to Fiji in November would be a record-equalling 10th successive international loss.
Despite the disastrous results in 2024, Welsh Rugby Union chairman Collier-Keywood said: “We’ve asked Warren to have a specific objective heading towards the next World Cup. Our pathways were not in the position they should’ve been in, so he’s taken this opportunity over this Six Nations and summer series to try out some new players.
“If you look at the performances, you can see that some of the players have tried out really well, we’re starting to get strength in depth and some of these players are on their way of becoming regular internationals. It is part of a plan, we’ve asked him to do it and he’s getting on with it, of course we’re going to support him.”