We all assumed that this was just the usual disregard for outward communication we have come to expect, but the reality was something much more mendacious than that.
They didn’t want any awkward questions, which would have been inevitable if he had fronted up because this seemingly fanciful rumour that Scotland’s head coach was being recruited by an English Premiership side which competes against Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors for player contracts, and which will very likely end up playing against either or both of those two sides by the time Townsend’s most recent SRU contract runs out, has been doing the rounds in the press south of the border since late August.
Did Murrayfield really think that nobody would find out that Townsend had been allowed to take on a lucrative side-hustle which will take up 30 working days (that’s six working weeks) per year if they just kept their heads down?
Townsend couldn’t get Scotland above third in the Six Nations and into the knock-out stages of the World Cup when working full-time at the job over the last eight seasons, so he’s not earned the right to take his foot off the gas to start laying the foundations for his next career move now.
And if Townsend and his employers really do believe – contrary to all the available evidence – that he has such a masterful grip of the team’s fortunes that now is the time to start segueing into his next job, then that needs to be backed up by the delivery of nothing short of complete success – beating New Zealand in the Autumn, a first ever Six Nations championship success in the Spring and World Cup glory in two years’ time – in the weeks, months and years ahead.
These would have been unreasonable demands if he had stuck to just the day job, but if you are going to start moonlighting right in front of your loyal customers’ eyes at the same time as they are being hit with record high ticket prices, then you relinquish that excuse of: ‘I’m doing the best I can with the resources I’ve got’.
By choosing to have his cake and eat it, Townsend has heaped extra scrutiny and pressure onto himself. The same applies to Scottish Rugby – Williamson and Nucifora specifically – who have gone along with this job-share scheme.
Scottish Rugby CEO Alex Williamson and Performance Director David Nucifora have yet to convince that they have a strong grip when it comes to directing the game in this country towards a brighter future. Image: © Craig Watson – www.craigwatson.co.uk
When news of Townsend’s Red Bull link-up eventually leaked, Murrayfield’s damage limitation efforts revolved around presenting the whole thing as a great opportunity for Scottish Rugby to benefit from his being exposed to and participating in “high-level strategic conversations with a powerhouse in sport”.
It’s almost as if Townsend and Red Bull are doing Scottish Rugby a favour! Like we should be paying them for their help on this matter. But we are not paying them …. because it is not a good deal for us. They are paying Townsend … and Scottish Rugby are the mugs who have gone along with it.
What happens if/when a young Scottish-based player on the periphery of the national squad comes out of contract during the lead-up to the next World Cup? Scottish Rugby will surely expect Townsend to steer well clear of helping Newcastle to secure a move which takes this talent away from Edinburgh or Glasgow Warriors where we are assured that they are better looked after and can better serve the national interest – but his Red Bull bosses may well expect something very different from the man the are paying handsomely to support their “global rugby strategy”. Which master does he serve?
If this was a defendable position, Scottish Rugby surely wouldn’t have waited until they were boxed into a corner before making the case – they would (or at least should) have got out in front of the story to explain to us why it is such a good thing.
The inescapable truth is that this is yet another Murrayfield fudge, just like the appointment of Nucifora as performance director on a two-year deal – working mainly form home in Australia, and taking on his own side-hustle with the Lions this summer during the crucial period when his new performance structure was being set up – was a slap in the face to all rugby supporters who expect the people running the game in this country to make Scottish rugby their sole priority.
It’s just like Nucifora’s male performance pathway overhaul, which provided plenty of buzzwords and saw significant cash spent on sub-department heads (middle managers) – but ultimately means less players involved, more youngsters cut adrift at an earlier age, and still no credible plan for creating appropriately challenging playing schedules for those coming through the system.
And it’s just like the recently announced women’s contract model, which only arrived after a summer of previously circumspect senior national team players launching pot-shots at the governing body over the unsettling lack of clarity on what the future looks like. This ended up being a reduction from 29 to 28 full-time deals, and only a half step towards the stated goal of bringing the top talent back to Scotland, with 17 home-based contracts while 18 players are still being paid to play in either the PWR (England) or Elite 1 (France). It’s neither one thing or the other. Just a make-do and move-on solution.
“I do believe that Scotland has all of the elements that it could be the leading union in the world,” said Williamson during his first press briefing as new CEO back in January. That’s a lofty and noble goal. You don’t get there with side-deals, compromises, short-cuts, and vague but still unfulfilled promises.