Next Coach?

[Scottish Caley Fan]

Imho, if we don't get past the group stages of the world cup then Gregor Townsend must go. To be honest, he probably has to go now because we have gone backwards since he replaced Vern Cotter, who should not have been sacked in the first place, what team or nation sacks a successful coach!!

So, who would you replace him with? Please don't say either Dave Rennie or the Edinburgh coach otherwise I will be annoyed because, for me it has to be a Southern Hemisphere coach. I would like it to be either Wayne Smith or Scott Robertson.

[Cameo]

What part of the northern hemisphere is Dave Rennie from? Wayne Smith or Scott Robertson are not coming to coach Scotland.

Let's wait and see how the rest of the tournament goes but my inclination at this stage would be to keep Townsend but get rid of most of the rest - especially Taylor (our defence has gone backwards).

Townsend's overall record is okay but some performances are very concerning. My reasoning for keeping him is similar to Graham Henry for AB's after 2007 (albeit at much lower level). Same reason we probably should have kept Cotter. If (and I know some don't) you agree he is a talented coach then it is a waste to lose the learning from the last two years and this WC.

I may change that view though!

[Scottish Caley Fan]

What part of the northern hemisphere is Dave Rennie from? Wayne Smith or Scott Robertson are not coming to coach Scotland.

Let's wait and see how the rest of the tournament goes but my inclination at this stage would be to keep Townsend but get rid of most of the rest - especially Taylor (our defence has gone backwards).

Townsend's overall record is okay but some performances are very concerning. My reasoning for keeping him is similar to Graham Henry for AB's after 2007 (albeit at much lower level). Same reason we probably should have kept Cotter. If (and I know some don't) you agree he is a talented coach then it is a waste to lose the learning from the last two years and this WC.

I may change that view though!

Is he not Scottish :O?

[Cameo]

From New Zealand and coached the Chiefs to Super Rugby title

[Big D]

All coaches are in long term deals until 2021. Hopefully the contracts have breaks in them should the SRU want to move on.

[General Zod]

All coaches are in long term deals until 2021. Hopefully the contracts have breaks in them should the SRU want to move on.

We’ve just got or are about to get a load of money from CVC. Hopefully we can use that to pie them off and hire someone else from the conveyor belt of failure.

[ARM]

Vern improved Scotland from a very dark place but the results under his watch were far from perfect. A 6N whitewash for example. Remember back to the last World Cup - we were similarly manhandled by South Africa in the pool due to lack of physicality. We sneaked last Samoa and only a late flurry against a tired Japan put the gloss on the scoreline. Then we had the QF where we nicked tries and it put some lipstick on the pig.

Now I am not blindly supporting Townsend - he makes mistakes in selection and tactics. And I don’t think he is surrounding himself with the right team. He got Dan McFarland right (you shouldn’t underestimate the difference he made to our forward systems) but Wilson looks a big step down. Taylor has probably been there too long - we need a new voice.

Ultimately though the players have to take responsibility to be disciplined, stay in their systems and get their emotional level right. The kneejerk “sack the coach” isn’t always the answer.

[General Zod]

I wouldn’t have Cotter back, but I’d also fire so many people that there wouldn’t be anyone left to do the hiring!

[whatisthejava]

Keep toonie, he has a long term vision but needs better helpers.

For me basically mortgage Murrayfield to get Shaun Edwards.

Then go and get some forwards coach in the Telfer mould who will terrify them

[Big D]

Vern improved Scotland from a very dark place but the results under his watch were far from perfect. A 6N whitewash for example. Remember back to the last World Cup - we were similarly manhandled by South Africa in the pool due to lack of physicality. We sneaked last Samoa and only a late flurry against a tired Japan put the gloss on the scoreline. Then we had the QF where we nicked tries and it put some lipstick on the pig.

Now I am not blindly supporting Townsend - he makes mistakes in selection and tactics. And I don’t think he is surrounding himself with the right team. He got Dan McFarland right (you shouldn’t underestimate the difference he made to our forward systems) but Wilson looks a big step down. Taylor has probably been there too long - we need a new voice.

Ultimately though the players have to take responsibility to be disciplined, stay in their systems and get their emotional level right. The kneejerk “sack the coach” isn’t always the answer.

The 6N whitewash was at the beginning of his tenure, not excusing it but there was clear progression at the end. The last 6N had us playing some decent rugby. There had been a clear progression, there hasn't been that under GT, if anything we have regressed.

Cotter was sacked to allow GT to take us forward. He will have a similar if not worse record than VC come the end of the 6N if he stays that long. And interestingly enough, VC gave out more new caps than GT has, which is sometimes used as one of GTs plus points.

Townsend is responsible for his coaching team and team philosophies. Keeping Taylor is great loyalty to a long time friend but weak leadership.

[Big D]

Regardless of how successful the RWC is there should be a full review of GTs tenure from how he was installed as head coach through to RWC performance covering those who employed him, GT and his staff and if people need sacked they should be.

[Chunks Baws]

If we don't make it out the group, sack the lot of them. If we make it out the group, sack Taylor and Wilson and see if Toony does any better with a better coaching team around him.

[Big D]

Shaun Edwards, Ian Peel and Jason O'Halloran would do as replacements. Bit of a change in coaching style.

Not saying it would help right enough.

[switchskier]

Vern improved Scotland from a very dark place but the results under his watch were far from perfect. A 6N whitewash for example. Remember back to the last World Cup - we were similarly manhandled by South Africa in the pool due to lack of physicality. We sneaked last Samoa and only a late flurry against a tired Japan put the gloss on the scoreline. Then we had the QF where we nicked tries and it put some lipstick on the pig.

Now I am not blindly supporting Townsend - he makes mistakes in selection and tactics. And I don’t think he is surrounding himself with the right team. He got Dan McFarland right (you shouldn’t underestimate the difference he made to our forward systems) but Wilson looks a big step down. Taylor has probably been there too long - we need a new voice.

Ultimately though the players have to take responsibility to be disciplined, stay in their systems and get their emotional level right. The kneejerk “sack the coach” isn’t always the answer.

Agree that McFarland has been a big loss. If he has a few successful years at Ulster then I can see him as a realistic candidate in time. Wilson came with a big reputation though so I'm surprised it's not working.

I've defended Taylor before but I'm fed up now. Four years ago we exported teams around the ruck. Embarrassing to see Stander walk through like that.

For Toony I don't see an obvious candidate out there and hed cost a fortune to sack. It all changes if we lose to Samoa or Japan though.

[Scottish Caley Fan]

I must add that I do not want it to come to this, I'd like to see us get out of the group and reach the knock out stages.

Not reaching the quarters will have to mean his position is untenable because ending 5th in 6N and going out group stages would be a massive failure for a team of our quality.

I do also agree with one poster that says the defence coach needs sacked because that is one area we are abysmal, we concede more than one try every damn game!!

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Seems to me that if you get to the qf you definitely keep him. There's no shame in losing to Ireland. Our win in Chicago against the ABs had similar levels of control.

If you don't get to the qf then it's a harder decision, but you should almost certainly keep him. He's a good coach. There aren't a whole load of better ones knocking about.

[Big D]

Seems to me that if you get to the qf you definitely keep him. There's no shame in losing to Ireland. Our win in Chicago against the ABs had similar levels of control.

If you don't get to the qf then it's a harder decision, but you should almost certainly keep him. He's a good coach. There aren't a whole load of better ones knocking about.

There is no shame in losing to Ireland, or being out coached by their coaching staff. However, the team should have been fully prepared for this game and they weren't. I wasn't expecting Scotland to beat Ireland but I was expecting a fitter and better organised team.

They aren't fit, there is no plan B when plan A doesn't work, there is no change in forward gameplan that has failed against the better teams repeatedly and the continued loyalty to Matt Taylor is baffling.

This isn't a reaction from fans over a single result. The questions over his position have been slowly gathering pace for a while. Yes the players have limitations but they are not a well coached side. The forwards have gone backwards since Dan MacF left and the defence has shown no improvement or change in structure since Taylor took over.

[Cameo]

Has there been any analysis of Wilson's role? I was gutted when McFarlane left but it seemed from all the talk that we had acted quickly and done well. It doesn't seem to have happened so far though

[Scottish Caley Fan]

I think this may need to be discussed again soon because we now MUST beat every remaining team in our group and get 5 maximum points from them.

So, realistically, it's 3 games before we look for a new coach.

[Cameo]

I think this may need to be discussed again soon because we now MUST beat every remaining team in our group and get 5 maximum points from them.

So, realistically, it's 3 games before we look for a new coach.

That doesn't make sense. Japan beating Ireland doesn't make Townsend less suitable for the Scotland job post the world cup.

Equally if we have a nightmare over our next three games but squeek through because Samoa beat Japan and Russia beat Samoa, that doesn't make him more suitable.

[Donny osmond]

I think this may need to be discussed again soon because we now MUST beat every remaining team in our group and get 5 maximum points from them.

So, realistically, it's 3 games before we look for a new coach.

That doesn't make sense. Japan beating Ireland doesn't make Townsend less suitable for the Scotland job post the world cup.

Equally if we have a nightmare over our next three games but squeek through because Samoa beat Japan and Russia beat Samoa, that doesn't make him more suitable.

While I agree with your logic, it eaves me wondering.... Is there anything that could make Townsend less suitable for the Scotland job post the World Cup?

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[Mikey Brown]

I don’t think we can ditch Townsend at this point, even though I wouldn’t have brought him in over Cotter in the first place.

He’s learning on the job and shown a few worrying signs of being unable to adapt or ignore his loyalty to certain players, but there’s potential in there that we absolutely must test with a better team around him. He should be able to see the deficiencies in other areas of the coaching team, and that’s a worry too.

As much as anything I’d hate to see us try and drag Rennie or Cockerill in without them proving themselves any further at the club level than he did. We need a solid foundation at the clubs to go anywhere.

Someone with a bit of edge like Cockerill is necessary though. GT probably is too nice but it doesn’t necessarily need to be him that fills that hard taskmaster role. I’d also love to see what Edwards would do.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Seems to me that if you get to the qf you definitely keep him. There's no shame in losing to Ireland. Our win in Chicago against the ABs had similar levels of control.

If you don't get to the qf then it's a harder decision, but you should almost certainly keep him. He's a good coach. There aren't a whole load of better ones knocking about.

Who here is ashamed of losing to Ireland? Not me. I expected it. The same applies to the rest of the SMB and most of the fans I'd think. Naively, I also expected the team to show up, be well prepared & be able to leave the pitch knowing they couldn't have done any more.

[Donny osmond]

I don’t think we can ditch Townsend at this point, even though I wouldn’t have brought him in over Cotter in the first place.

He’s learning on the job and shown a few worrying signs of being unable to adapt or ignore his loyalty to certain players, but there’s potential in there that we absolutely must test with a better team around him. He should be able to see the deficiencies in other areas of the coaching team, and that’s a worry too.

As much as anything I’d hate to see us try and drag Rennie or Cockerill in without them proving themselves any further at the club level than he did. We need a solid foundation at the clubs to go anywhere.

Someone with a bit of edge like Cockerill is necessary though. GT probably is too nice but it doesn’t necessarily need to be him that fills that hard taskmaster role. I’d also love to see what Edwards would do.

The big problem with the coaching merry-go-round is who would come in to replace him? As much as I dont like his teams or tactics I can still see that there is logic behind giving him a chance.

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[Cameo]

I think this may need to be discussed again soon because we now MUST beat every remaining team in our group and get 5 maximum points from them.

So, realistically, it's 3 games before we look for a new coach.

That doesn't make sense. Japan beating Ireland doesn't make Townsend less suitable for the Scotland job post the world cup.

Equally if we have a nightmare over our next three games but squeek through because Samoa beat Japan and Russia beat Samoa, that doesn't make him more suitable.

While I agree with your logic, it eaves me wondering.... Is there anything that could make Townsend less suitable for the Scotland job post the World Cup?

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Yes, performances. If we lose to Samoa and Japan it's make his position pretty untenable too