Gregor Townsend's Red Bull questions won’t go away as he teases possible investment

“Can we get back to Scotland, please?” beseeched the national coach who had gathered the media at Oriam ostensibly to discuss his squad for the forthcoming autumn Test series.

Not so fast, Gregor! There are still a few things to discuss about this new fangled role with the Austrian fizzy drinks giants. And to be fair to Townsend, he answered every question about his second job with good grace, even teasing a potential link up between Murrayfield and his new employers.

Could Red Bull invest in Scottish Rugby, he was asked?

“That would be a huge help if they were interested,” said the coach. “That's a question for Alex [Williamson, Scottish Rugby chief executive], I think. But look, there is obviously the tie-up. I can't speak for Alex, but with me now having a relationship with the CEOs, or the Europe CEO and the UK CEO, there could be, obviously, chances for conversations. There will be. But you'd have to ask Alex on that.”

I can do both jobs

Ever since Red Bull appointed Townsend as “strategic advisor and consultant on their global rugby strategy”, the Scottish rugby bush telegraph has been aflame.

The question many want answered is: why is the Scotland job not enough for the national coach?

Townsend, whose new contract to lead the team into the 2027 World Cup was trumpeted just 28 days before the Red Bull role was revealed, insists he can do both. In short, Red Bull will have no negative bearing on his ability to do the Scotland job.

“In my own time, I’d like to learn from other sports and other organisations,” said Townsend. “This gives me an opportunity to do that, but it’s not going to be something that I’m focusing on in the next few weeks, because that’s going to be the Scotland job.

“I’m well aware of my role and the time that I’m able to allocate, and I’ve got to make sure I manage that because there will be less holidays, less time off over the next couple of years.

“But that also can be a real positive in terms of energising me and being involved on a wider level with sport and management, and that’s what I’ve felt like over the last couple of months [since starting with Red Bull].”

Big fan of Klopp

Townsend has been over to the company’s Salzburg HQ but he hasn’t yet met Jürgen Klopp, Red Bull’s head of global soccer.

“I do hope to catch up with him as a role model and someone to learn from in sport,” said the Scotland coach. “I'm a Liverpool fan, but I'm a big fan of what he's done in terms of setting the environment. I'll be looking forward to that sit-down with him.”

Red Bull’s first foray into rugby has been their investment in Newcastle Falcons. Having taken control of the English Prem club and changed their name to Newcastle Red Bull, the company is clearly keen to revitalise the team in the way they have done with football clubs RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.

Townsend was asked if he envisaged working full-time with Newcastle after the World Cup.

“I can't predict the future,” he answered.

One thing we can predict is that the Red Bull questions are unlikely to go away any time soon.