Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has taken responsibility for his side’s Rugby World Cup exit after losing to Ireland 36-14; world champions South Africa and world No 1-ranked Ireland will move into the quarter-finals from Pool B in France, with the Irish taking on New Zealand next
Last Updated: 08/10/23 10:23am
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend is now looking to the future following his side’s World Cup exit
Gregor Townsend has taken responsibility for Scotland’s World Cup exit and believes Ireland have provided a blueprint for future success.
Scotland were well beaten 36-14 by the irresistible Irish, having barely thrown a punch in an 18-3 loss earlier in the pool stage to the Springboks.
There was a lot of talk of ambition and exceeding expectations ahead of the tournament, but they were unable to turn that into a performance on the pitch when it mattered.
“We’ve never beaten a team ranked above us in any World Cup we’ve played in, so you may have to go all the way back to 1987 to ask can we do better, and we certainly have to do better, and the responsibility is mine,” Scotland coach Townsend said.
Despite that damning statistic, he hoped for better this time around and believed the work they had done in the previous four years had laid the platform for success.
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Sky Sports’ James Cole examines whether Ireland’s dominant win over Scotland showed why many have regarded them as one of the favourites to win the Rugby World Cup
“We believed we could get out of this pool. We still believed that after losing to South Africa,” Townsend added.
“The response the players showed in training gave us an opportunity which we didn’t take. Ireland took it and they are a better team than us on performance.
“If we can get on the journey they have been over the last few years then great. Its easy saying that, its another thing doing it.
“We’ve got to make sure that this defeat makes us a better team for the Six Nations and the next World Cup.”
Townsend believes any Scotland improvement in the next World Cup cycle has to start at club level and bringing through players with the quality to compete in international rugby.
“The way Irish rugby is set up, they could dominate world rugby for the next five, 10 years,” he said.
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Andy Farrell insists the fact Ireland are mentioned in the same bracket as New Zealand ahead of his side’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks shows how far they have come
“They’re the No 1 team in the world and they have pro rugby and age-group systems that are very strong.
“We’ve got to do better.
“This group of players has got to fifth in the world, which is the best we’ve been in terms of the Scotland national team.
“But we know we have to make sure that continues, not for the next couple of years, but for the next 10 years.”
Ireland laid down a marker of their quality to the rest of the Rugby World Cup at the Stade de France, topping Pool B’s ‘group of death’.
Six tries through wing James Lowe, full-back Hugo Keenan (two), second-row Iain Henderson, hooker Dan Sheehan and centre Garry Ringrose mean Ireland will face New Zealand in the quarter-finals in Paris next Saturday, looking to book a semi-final place for the first time in the nation’s history.
Ireland’s Hugo Keenan scored two tries as Ireland brushed aside Scotland on their way to the World Cup quarter-finals
Andy Farrell’s side were also forced to play the entirety of the second half with no wingers on the pitch, as first-half knocks to Mack Hansen and James Lowe saw Ringrose and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park shift to the flanks – injuries the Irish coaching staff will dearly hope are not serious.