\u201cWe have to review our game [against France] and obviously there\u2019s a lot of positives there but success also leaves clues,\u201d he added. \u201cThe reasons we won this weekend, the reasons we won against England and against Wales, that\u2019s what we want to build on. So what did we do well because that\u2019s going to take us into next week?<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s the contact area, our work-rate off the ball was outstanding, our ability to know what was working and then keep going for that. Whether we were ahead in the scoreboard or behind the scoreboard, we were relentless in what we know works for us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe watched [the Ireland versus Wales game on Friday night] together as coaches, taking notes, so we\u2019ll put that together with the other games we\u2019ve seen, but I think the quick turnaround in the Six Nations probably gets you focused more on your own game anyway because doing your own review is more important than the opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have to respect what Ireland do, where teams have put them under pressure but also where they get into their game. We\u2019ve not [won] against Ireland for the last few years so we know it is a big challenge. We know the game we can deliver and we have done it in the last three games, but Ireland also know that and they\u2019ll have a plan to stop that and also impose their game, so that\u2019s going to be a big challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Townsend also acknowledged that some thought will have to be put into ensuring the psychological baggage of being serial losers to Ireland is not an issue this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ll definitely cover it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re probably in a different stage of our development or a different time in playing Ireland for a couple of reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne factor is what we\u2019ve done in the last three games but also the experience of our Lions players in the summer. We had a number of players on the tour that trained and played alongside Irish players and were coached by Irish coaches. We have a coach in our team who worked with those Irish coaches so there\u2019s a little bit more in the mix this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 2021 Lions tour was a bit different. There were no Irish coaches on that tour. There weren\u2019t as many Irish players. This one is more relevant to what we know about the Ireland way of playing. Their defence coach, their attack coach, their scrum coach were involved and they had a number of players. Now our players have experienced all that so it should add to our week but it can\u2019t be a big part of the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big part of the conversation next week is how we get our game out because that\u2019s the key to success. There\u2019s knowing what the opposition will do but it\u2019s more important to know what you can do and what you have to do to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI also think this team has grown in terms of the psychological side of the game, the mental side of the game, and we\u2019ve shown it in Cardiff, we\u2019ve shown it against England and the big challenge is now doing that in Dublin,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you guys [in the media] talk about \u2018auras\u2019, we just talk about a team delivering performances and they\u2019ve delivered really good performances against us. That\u2019s what we\u2019re expecting. We were expecting Wales to play really well against us last week and we expect Ireland to play well at home.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t play as well then great but I think they\u2019ll play well against us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scotland are almost certainly going to have to make one and quite possibly two changes to their starting second-row to face Ireland due to the injuries sustained by Gregor Brown (hamstring) and Scott Cummings (calf) against France, and that presents Townsend with an early opportunity to shape how the team attacks next week\u2019s challenge. He could go with the heavyweight options of Grant Gilchrist, Max Williamson and\/or Jonny Gray to try to counter Ireland\u2019s power game up front, or a more Brown-esque option such as Alex Craig which might better suit the tempo Scotland want to play at.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Gregor will be out and it\u2019s really unlucky for him,\u201d reflected Townsend. \u201cHe plays with so much courage and physicality and obviously as a lighter second-row he\u2019s so technically good in the scrum and the maul defence that it doesn\u2019t matter. He\u2019ll play a number of years for Scotland either at six or four. He\u2019ll be a miss but that means an opportunity for someone else to step up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll just see where we are next week with our squad and what type of game we want to build on. Obviously the game we played [versus France] is exactly close to what we\u2019ve been working towards and that\u2019s what we need to get out there and who\u2019s best suited to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely could be someone like Jonny Gray who\u2019s been training really well but there\u2019s other guys like Alex Craig, Max Williamson, Alex Samuel who missed this week with injury but could be back next week. Marshall Sykes played in this fixture in Paris last year. We\u2019ve got some players I imagine we\u2019ll have to call in to the squad next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Townsend added that he isn\u2019t concerned about the staggering of matches on Super Saturday which means that France will know exactly what they need to do when they kick-off their final match of the campaign at home against England in the evening, while his side will have played earlier in the day so just have to try to win, scoring as many tries as possible, and then hope for the best.<\/p>\n
Asked if all three matches in round five should kick-off at the same time, he said: \u201cNo, I think everybody enjoys Super Saturday. It\u2019s great isn\u2019t it? You want to watch games separately and supporters turn up at venues early to watch the one before.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Six Nations is a wonderful tournament, having those six different nations but also how it\u2019s spread out. I think the move to six weeks this year instead of seven has not reduced the quality, it\u2019s made it even better, and Super Saturday now is brilliant.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrance could have won the tournament today, they didn\u2019t. Three teams are in the mix for it next week so I think the organisers and the rugby public couldn\u2019t have asked for a better last day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo team thinks: \u2018Oh well, we\u2019ll stop playing if we\u2019ve already won\u2019. We know we\u2019re going for an opportunity [to win the title] but also a Triple Crown that we\u2019ve never had since 1990 and we\u2019ve got a big opponent that we haven\u2019t beaten for a while.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s enough motivation in there to just make sure that we do all we can to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n