Gregor Townsend addresses his future as Scotland head coach amid 'mixed feelings' over Six Nations ending

Townsend, 51, has been in the post since 2017 and has just presided over his eighth Six Nations campaign. Scotland finished the 2025 tournament in fourth place after losing their final match 35-16 to France in Paris.

It is the fifth time in six seasons that the Scots have been placed fourth and Townsend admitted it had been a frustrating campaign at times as his side beat Italy and Wales but lost to Ireland and England as well as the French. But he was proud of the performance at the Stade de France as Scotland matched the newly crowned champions in the first half and were unfortunate to have a try disallowed just before the interval which would have seen them go in at the turn ahead.

Asked if he expected to still be in charge when Scotland go on their summer tour to New Zealand and Fiji, Townsend said: “I've got a contract.”

He signed an extension to his deal in May 2023 which runs until April 2026 and he doesn’t intend to break the contract.

“No, not at all. It wouldn't be the right thing to do anyway,” he said. “As I said, there's mixed feelings but the biggest feeling I have is pride and encouragement for that display [against France]. It would have been good if we'd taken it like the England game and still been in the mix going into the last ten minutes. That's the thing we have to improve, just that precision and accuracy.

“The effort, the togetherness and the physicality, which has maybe been questioned in the past. We've shown more often than not this season on the Six Nations that we can front up against the biggest packs.”

He said he would now go away and reflect on Scotland’s performances before the national team’s summer trip to the southern hemisphere. They will play the Māori All Blacks in Whangārei on July 5 and are also expected to face Fiji and one other fixture.

“I still feel a massive privilege being in this role,” said Townsend. “It gives me a big purpose in my life.

“You need time to reflect as well after tournaments because I know what I'm like. I'm really proud of the performance [against France], but as soon as I start watching the video again, I'll be down for a few days. But my initial feelings, like they were in Twickenham, and they're genuine.

“This is what we're asking of our team to go and deliver, and they did it in really tough circumstances and tough environments. So that's the basis of a team that can kick on.”

Townsend said he did not expect to be part of the British & Irish Lions coaching team for their summer tour to Australia but was hopeful of a healthy representation of Scottish players in the squad. He was attack coach under Warren Gatland for the 2021 tour of New Zealand and new coach Andy Farrell will name his backroom team for the trip to Australia on March 26.