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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
'I'm not going to answer that just now...' Gregor Townsend refuses to be drawn on future after Scotland tour finishes with victory over Samoa
Gregor Townsned refused to be drawn on his future as Scotland head coach after rounding off the summer tour with victory over Samoa in Auckland. The Scots scored seven tries at Eden Park to finish the tour on a high after the bitter blow of losing against Fiji in Suva last weekend. That defeat against the Fijians is likely to be costly after Scotland blew the chance to win vital ranking points heading into the World Cup draw later this year. Townsend's future remains unclear, with his current contract due to expire after the Six Nations next year. A few weeks ago, Scottish Rugby chief executive Alex Williamson expressed a desire to extend Townsend's deal and planned to hold talks whilst away with the team on tour. But Townsend refused to give much away, saying: 'I would imagine they [talks] will start to happen but the focus has been on this week, the short turnaround, the Test matches we've had. 'Alex has been with us for the last three games now, so he's seen how our environment works, what a Test week looks like, the players we have and the culture we have. After the summer, we'll look into that again.' Pressed on whether he wants to stay beyond next year and lead Scotland into the next World Cup, Townsend replied: 'I'm not going to answer that just now. 'Let's just focus on tonight's game. I'll reflect on not just this tour, but this season as a whole because it has obviously been a busy few weeks for us.' In the end, Townsend's side claimed two victories from their three matches, with the defeat to Fiji being sandwiched by wins over Samoa and the Maori All Blacks. He was adamant that positives should be taken in terms of growth and experience, despite the costly defeat against the Fijians. 'There's a lot of ways that you can evaluate a tour,' he continued. 'One is a longer-term one. Players get this opportunity to go up against three quality sides. 'We saw this tour as three Test matches. Physical Test matches away from home. We've had more players that have got that opportunity with the Lions tour being on at the same time. 'You're not going to play your best every time. You're not going to win every game. We know that. It's part of sport. 'We were disappointed that we didn't kick on in the second half against Fiji after getting back into the game. We didn't play as well as we could have. We made it tough on ourselves with the discipline. 'The games either side have been excellent. The way the team reacted with a six-day turnaround this week, just one training session, the demands of travel, it shows what a quality group they are. 'Also the pride they take in their performance and how they rise to that challenge of coming off the back of a defeat and taking the learnings and delivering a performance the following week. 'The other aspect is the success of the tour off the field. The players have got closer together. You're together for four weeks. You're enjoying the cultures that are here. 'We've made a point of getting out there. Whether it was a Maori welcome or going to a local rugby club in New Zealand to the week we had in Fiji, which was amazing, to this week, which has been a shorter week.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scotland bounce back with seven-try win over Samoa
Samoa: (0) 12 Tries: Nee-Nee, Paia'aua Cons: Umaga Scotland: (22) 41 Tries: Ashman, Hutchinson, Reed, Steyn, Gilchrist, Rowe, Turner Cons: Burke, Horne 2 Scotland bounced back from a painful defeat to Fiji last weekend with a thumping seven-try win over Samoa in Auckland. First-half scores from Ewan Ashman, Rory Hutchinson, Arron Reed and Kyle Steyn had Gregor Townsend's side in a commanding position, before further scores from Grant Gilchrist, Kyle Rowe and George Turner in the second period. Ben Nee-Nee and a determined Duncan Paia'aua were able to get two back for the hosts at Eden Park, but Scotland dominated all areas in a much more proficient and disciplined performance. That was despite missing almost a full starting fifteen to either injury or British & Irish Lions duty. One place for all your Scottish Rugby news Reaction as Scotland finish tour on a high with seven-try win over Samoa While the loss to Fiji was damaging to Scotland, a loss to Samoa would have been unthinkable. However, Ashman's early score eased any jitters. The Australia-bound hooker latched on to a driving maul to put Scotland in the lead after seven minutes, but in those early stages they'd had to stand up to some surging Samoa attack. But after they landed the first blow, the backline kicked into gear. Stafford McDowall kicked through for Hutchinson to collect with the Northampton man darting over for Scotland's only central score. The next one was much wider, as the impressive Jamie Dobie looped a long miss pass out to the scampering Reed to dot down in the corner. Five minutes later, they had their fourth. Dobie, Fergus Burke and Rowe all timed passes to perfection, with Steyn cantering in untouched. They started the second-half in equally clinical fashion. Pounding at the Samoan barricades, the battering ram of Gilchrist eventually broke through to timber over for only his second international score. Any hope of shutting out the hosts was soon snuffed out as replacement George Horne threw a blind pass on his own five-metre while being bundled into touch. Samoan lock Nee-Nee was on hand to intercept, gleeful at such an opportunity being handed to him. Scotland responded immediately. From a scrum they went left, then right, then left again. Andy Onyeama-Christie carried hard, as did Matt Fagerson, but it was Burke's pop-up offload from the deck which gave Rowe the chance to leap into the corner and touch down. Toulon centre Paia'aua was able to get one back for Samoa, spinning out of the hands of two Scotland tacklers, but Turner got the seventh from the back of a driving maul. The scoreline could have been far more comfortable, but Burke forgot his kicking boots and could only land one of his four conversion attempts. It was a greasy surface, in fairness to the Scotland newbee. Samoa: Ah Kiong, Tuitama, Paia'aua, Taefu, Alosio; Umaga, Matavao; Seiuli, Sue, Alaalatoa, Nee-Nee, Slade, McFarland (capt), Mau'u, Seu. Replacements: Tolai, Siteine-Tua, Fepuleai, Curry, Jones, Mapu, Tupa'i, Iona. Scotland: Rowe, Steyn, Hutchinson, McDowall, Reed; Burke, Dobie; Sutherland, Ashman, Millar Mills, Brown, Gilchrist, Onyeama-Christie, Darge (capt), M Fagerson. Replacements: Turner, McBeth, Richardson, Henderson, Sykes, Muncaster, Horne, Hastings. Referee: Jordan Way (Australia)
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland bounce back with seven-try win over Samoa
Samoa: (0) 12Tries: Nee-Nee, Paia'aua Cons: UmagaScotland: (22) 41Tries: Ashman, Hutchinson, Reed, Steyn, Gilchrist, Rowe, Turner Cons: Burke, Horne 2 Scotland bounced back from a painful defeat to Fiji last weekend with a thumping seven-try win over Samoa in Auckland to end their summer tour on a scores from Ewan Ashman, Rory Hutchinson, Arron Reed and Kyle Steyn had Gregor Townsend's side in a commanding position, before further scores from Grant Gilchrist, Kyle Rowe and George Turner in the second Nee-Nee and a determined Duncan Paia'aua were able to get two back for the hosts at Eden Park, but Scotland dominated all areas in a much more proficient and disciplined was despite missing almost a full starting fifteen to either injury or British & Irish Lions duty. While the loss to Fiji was damaging to Scotland, a loss to Samoa would have been unthinkable. However, Ashman's early score eased any Australia-bound hooker latched on to a driving maul to put Scotland in the lead after seven minutes, but in those early stages they'd had to stand up to some surging Samoa after they landed the first blow, the backline kicked into gear. Stafford McDowall kicked through for Hutchinson to collect with the Northampton man darting over for Scotland's only central score of the first next one was much wider, as the impressive Jamie Dobie looped a long miss pass out to the scampering Reed to dot down in the minutes later, they had their fourth. Dobie, Fergus Burke and Rowe all timed passes to perfection, with Steyn cantering in started the second-half in equally clinical fashion. Pounding at the Samoan barricades, the battering ram of Gilchrist eventually broke through to timber over for only his second international hope of shutting out the hosts was soon snuffed out as replacement George Horne threw a blind pass on his own five-metre while being bundled into touch. Samoan lock Nee-Nee was on hand to intercept, gleeful at such an opportunity being handed to responded immediately. From a scrum they went left, then right, then left again. Andy Onyeama-Christie carried hard, as did Matt Fagerson, but it was Burke's pop-up offload from the deck which gave Rowe the chance to leap into the corner and touch centre Paia'aua was able to get one back for Samoa, spinning out of the hands of two Scotland tacklers, but Turner got the seventh from the back of a driving scoreline could have been far more comfortable, but Burke forgot his kicking boots and could only land one of his four conversion attempts. It was a greasy surface, in fairness to the Scotland newbee. Samoa: Ah Kiong, Tuitama, Paia'aua, Taefu, Alosio; Umaga, Matavao; Seiuli, Sue, Alaalatoa, Nee-Nee, Slade, McFarland (capt), Mau'u, Tolai, Siteine-Tua, Fepuleai, Curry, Jones, Mapu, Tupa'i, Rowe, Steyn, Hutchinson, McDowall, Reed; Burke, Dobie; Sutherland, Ashman, Millar Mills, Brown, Gilchrist, Onyeama-Christie, Darge (capt), M Turner, McBeth, Richardson, Henderson, Sykes, Muncaster, Horne, Jordan Way (Australia)
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Rugby live updates: Manu Samoa v Scotland
Manu Samoa lost to Argentina 19-10 in their second pool match at the Rugby World Cup. Photo: Manu Samoa Manu Samoa and Scotland meet in a special one off test at Eden Park, as part of the Scottish tour of New Zealand and the Pacific. Kick-off is at 7:35pm NZT. Follow all the action with RNZ's live blog: Manu Samoa: 1. Aki Seiuli, 2. Pita Anae‑Ah Sue, 3. Michael Alaalatoa, 4. Benjamin Petaia Nee‑Nee, 5. Samuel Slade, 6. Theo McFarland (capt), 7. Jonah Mau'u, 8. Taleni Seu, 9. Melani Matavao, 10. Jacob Umaga, 11. Tomasi Alosio, 12. Henry Taefu, 13. Duncan Paia'aua, 14. Tuna Tuitama, 15. Latrell Ah Kiong Bench: 16. Luteru Tolai, 17. Kaynan Siteine‑Tua, 18. Marco Fepulea'i, 19. Michael Curry, 20. Niko Jones, 21. Iakopo Mapu, 22. Connor Tupai, 23. Rodney Iona Scotland: 1. Rory Sutherland, 2. Ewan Ashman, 3. Elliot Millar Mills, 4. Gregor Brown, 5. Grant Gilchrist, 6. Andy Onyeama‑Christie, 7. Rory Darge (capt), 8. Matt Fagerson, 9. Jamie Dobie, 10. Fergus Burke, 11. Arron Reed, 12. Stafford McDowall, 13. Rory Hutchinson, 14. Kyle Steyn, 15. Kyle Rowe Bench: 16. George Turner, 17. Nathan McBeth, 18. Fin Richardson, 19. Cameron Henderson, 20. Marshall Sykes, 21. Ben Muncaster, 22. George Horne, 23. Adam Hastings
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Five restored to Scotland line-up to face Samoa
Scotland have made five personnel changes and one positional switch for Friday's final tour match against Samoa at Eden Park, Auckland (09:05 BST). Kyle Steyn moves from left to right wing as Arron Reed comes in at 11 while Rory Hutchinson and Stafford McDowall make up a new centre partnership. Advertisement In the pack, Gregor Brown comes into the second row and Andy Onyeama-Christie takes over at blindside flanker. Darcy Graham was red carded in Saturday's loss to Fiji while Tom Jordan and Jamie Ritchie had been ruled out of Friday's Test. Lock Marshall Sykes drops to the bench while Cameron Redpath misses out. Loosehead prop Rory Sutherland and hooker Ewan Ashman will join up with the British and Irish Lions squad touring Australia after featuring against Samoa. Gregor Townsend's Scots beat Maori All Blacks 29-26 in Whangarei before last weekend's 29-14 defeat in Suva. Scotland XI to face Samoa Scotland: Kyle Rowe, Kyle Steyn, Rory Hutchinson, Stafford McDowall, Arron Reed, Fergus Burke, Jamie Dobie; Rory Sutherland, Ewan Ashman, Elliot Millar Mills, Gregor Brown, Grant Gilchrist, Andy Onyeama, Rory Darge (capt), Matt Fagerson. Advertisement Replacements: George Turner, Nathan McBeth, Fin Richardson, Cameron Henderson, Marshall Sykes, Ben Muncaster, George Horne, Adam Hastings. Related internet links
