Gregor Townsend is World Cup-bound - 28 years after France 98 stag do

Townsend was there in 1998 in France and is looking forward to reprising his role as a Tartan Army foot soldier in the coming days.

The hopes of a nation will weigh heavily on Clarke’s shoulders and the long-serving boss has the sympathy of Townsend who knows a bit about managing supporters’ expectations.

The two coaches keep in contact and the latter sees similarities between their two squads in terms of the presence of several long-serving players and the cohesiveness that helps foster.

The rugby coach will make a flying visit to the US to watch Scotland take on Haiti this weekend before returning home to prepare his own team for the Nations Championship and games against Argentina, South Africa and Fiji.

Keeping in touch with Clarke

“I've managed to fit in a little trip,” said Townsend. “I'm leaving on Wednesday but I'll be back at the weekend in time for us coaching next week.”

Townsend, who was in touch with Clarke recently, used to see him and his squad regularly when they shared the same training base at Oriam in Edinburgh.

“I congratulated him on his contract and he said he was really looking forward to the World Cup. We message each other after games. When they were based here [at Oriam] we'd see each other more regularly but they're no longer based here. But it's nice to get messages from him when we're playing and likewise he gets back to me when I message him.

“It's exciting. I was there for the last time - and that was a long, long time ago - for the Morocco game. So, when the draw was made I thought, ‘let's go for it’. I feel like I don't want to miss out. You don't know when the next one's going to be.

“I think the really exciting part is the build-up and obviously when the team wins. We've experienced that even in this year's Six Nations. The joy it brings to the country whether it's beating England or anybody. And I think the World Cup now, because we've not qualified for so long, I think people are just going to enjoy the experience.”

“Whether they're travelling out there to watch the games or staying up until two in the morning to watch it. It's just a thrill that Scotland are in the World Cup. But that's a start. I think we all want them to win these games and get out of the pool. And last weekend [beating Bolivia 4-0 in their final match before the tournament] was really exciting to see that they're coping with the weather and they're building that cohesion.

“That team reminds me of our team. They've been together now for a few years, they're good mates. They understand the game and that's very important when you're playing tournaments.”

Memories of 1998

Townsend was a handy footballer in his youth and would travel up from Galashiels to play for the famous Hutchison Vale boys’ club in Edinburgh. Rugby was his first love, of course, but he has always been a football fan and regular attender of games.

His (football) World Cup experiences mean he is a link to Scotland’s last outing on the global stage and, almost three decades later he will be there for their next appearance.

“It was my stag weekend,” he recalls of the 1998 match against Morocco at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. “My brother organised it so we managed to get to Saint-Étienne for the game. EasyJet had just started up, maybe six months before, so he said we can get £20 flights. But it was to Nice. So, we had to fly to Nice and then get a train up. We literally arrived at the ground as they were kicking off. We were all thinking this is going to be brilliant but Scotland lost 3-0.

“That was a good weekend. We had one night in Saint-Étienne and one night in Nice and then came home.”

Too soon, in the words of Del Amitri. The hope is that Scotland can stick around a little longer this time.

Watching from Spain

This year’s tournament has seen them once again drawn alongside Morocco and Brazil - just like they were in 1998. Townsend will have left the States before Clarke’s side play those matches but he will be watching them on TV. He will be in Spain at a pre-Nations Championship training camp when the Scots face the Brazilians in their final Group C match on June 24.

“I think the Brazil game is on the Wednesday night, the night before we take on Spain, so the management will be up watching that game,” he said. “We'll encourage the players to go and watch but some of them might want an early night before taking on Spain the next day.”

The bounce game against Spain is to give some of Townsend’s squad a hit-out before they leave for Cordoba to play Argentina in their opening match of the inaugural Nations Championship. And the World Cup connection continues there. The match with the Pumas will be played at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, named after the hero of Argentina’s 1978 World Cup win.

Less happily, it was also the venue for two of Scotland’s worst ever results: the 3-1 defeat by Peru and the 1-1 draw with Iran which were largely responsible for Ally MacLeod’s team’s early exit in ’78 when so much was expected of the squad.

Let’s hope for better this time around.