Scotland manager Gregor Townsend took responsibility for his team’s exit from the Rugby World Cup after losing to Ireland 36-14; World champions South Africa and world number one Ireland will advance to the quarter-finals of Pool B in France, with the Irish then facing New Zealand.
Last updated: 08/10/23 10:23 a.m.
Scotland manager Gregor Townsend is now looking to the future after his team’s elimination from the World Cup.
Gregor Townsend took responsibility for Scotland’s World Cup elimination and believes Ireland provided a template for future success.
Scotland were comprehensively beaten 36-14 by the irresistible Irish, having barely thrown a punch in an 18-3 defeat earlier in the group stage against the Springboks.
There was a lot of talk about ambition and exceeding expectations before the tournament, but they failed to translate that into performance on the field when it counted.
“We’ve never beaten a team ranked above us in a World Cup we’ve been in, so you might have to go back to 1987 to wonder if we can do better, and we “We certainly have to do better, and the responsibility lies with me,” said Scotland coach Townsend.
Despite these damning statistics, he hoped for better this time and felt that the work accomplished over the previous four years had laid the foundation for success.
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Sky Sports’ James Cole examines whether Ireland’s dominant win over Scotland showed why many see them as one of the favorites to win the Rugby World Cup
“We believed we could get out of this group. We still believed that after losing to South Africa,” Townsend added.
“The response from the players in training gave us an opportunity that we didn’t take. Ireland took it and they are a better team than us in terms of performance.
“If we can continue the journey they’ve been on over the last few years, then great. It’s easy to say that, it’s another thing to do it.
“We need to make sure this defeat makes us a better team for the Six Nations and the next World Cup.”
Townsend believes any improvement for Scotland in the next World Cup cycle must start at club level and bring in players with the qualities needed to compete in international rugby.
“The way Irish rugby is set up, they could dominate world rugby for the next five or 10 years,” he said.
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Andy Farrell insists Ireland being mentioned in the same group as New Zealand ahead of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks shows how far they have come.
“They are the No. 1 team in the world and they have professional rugby and age group systems that are very strong.
“We have to do better.
“This group of players came fifth in the world, which is the best we’ve ever been in terms of the Scotland national team.
“But we know we have to keep this going, not for the next two years, but for the next 10 years.”
Ireland set a milestone for the rest of the Rugby World Cup at the Stade de France, topping the Pool B “group of death”.
Six tries from winger James Lowe, fullback Hugo Keenan (two), second row Iain Henderson, hooker Dan Sheehan and center Garry Ringrose mean Ireland will face New Zealand in the quarter-finals in Paris next Saturday, looking to book a semi-final. -last place for the first time in the history of the nation.
Ireland’s Hugo Keenan scored two tries as Ireland brushed aside Scotland en route to the World Cup quarter-finals.
Andy Farrell’s side were also forced to play the entire second half without any wingers on the field, as first-half thumps against Mack Hansen and James Lowe saw Ringrose and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park moving down the flanks – hurting the Irish. the coaching staff sincerely hopes they aren’t serious.