The Scotland boss faced questions over whether he had been lined up to take the Newcastle job after the 2027 World Cup before the tournament even began.

Then, Scotland fell to defeat on the opening day in a disappointing loss to Italy.

For Woodward, who won the Rugby World Cup with England, for Scotland to have had any chance at success on the field then matters had to be sorted off of it.

In his Daily Mail column, Woodward blasted Townsend, something he likes as a player and coach, for “shooting himself in the foot” as he insisted both the coach and SRU chiefs have “huge questions to answer”.

Woodward wrote: “I like Townsend but he is absolutely at fault here. He’s been so daft.

“Equally, the SRU chief executive, Alex Williamson, and performance guru, David Nucifora, have a pretty poor grasp of international rugby by allowing it. 

“They should have said to Townsend: ‘If you want to work with Red Bull, go but there’s no way you can do that and be Scotland coach. Make a choice.’ 

“They’ve allowed Townsend to walk all over them. I am surprised at Nucifora given his experience and the fine work he did with Ireland. ”

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He continued: “I wonder what the likes of Finn Russell think of it. Russell and Townsend haven’t always got on, so I can’t imagine the No 10 is seeing anything positive about this circus. 

“I can’t imagine Scotland’s is a happy camp right now. Townsend doesn’t strike me as an idiot, but he has allowed this to unfold in the glare of the media. He’s been naïve to think working with Red Bull and Newcastle links wouldn’t have an impact on his ability to coach the team. 

“The moment I read about it, I thought it would cause Scotland problems. And it is. I would never have considered doing it.

“Working with another team while coaching England? Frankly unthinkable and unworkable.”

Responding to critics after the loss to Italy, Townsend said: “I think the media can choose what narrative to write.

“Whether people think coaches are doing a good job and they’re there longer, or whether it’s time for change. You guys can choose [to write] that.”