Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won 82

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for Scotland and two for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. He is a former coach of

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

and was a player-coach for Border Reivers. As well as in Scotland, he played club rugby in Australia, England, France and South Africa. As coach of Scotland, his team won at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years in 2021. Townsend was selected as attack coach for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. Townsend was awarded an MBE in 1999 for services to rugby.

Early life and education

Townsend was born in April 1973 in Galashiels. He graduated in 1995 from the University of Edinburgh with an MA degree in History and Politics.

Playing career

Club

Townsend started playing for his local club Gala RFC, where his father had played, and came through from the mini section to senior side. In 1993, Townsend spent a season in Australia, playing for Warringah in the Shute Shield. He was part of the team that came runners-up to

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, losing 23–19. He returned to the club in 1995 after leaving his local side Gala. In 1995, Townsend joined English side

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

for the 1995–96 Courage League National Division Two, where he helped the side to promotion to the top English division for 1996. He remained with the club for a further two seasons in the top English division before moving to France to play for Brive in the French Rugby Union Championship. Across the two seasons he played for the club, Brive did not make much success which saw Townsend move to play for Castres Olympique in 2000. In Townsend's first season with Castres, the side topped Pool 1 which saw them advance through to the quarter finals where they defeated Colomiers 37–26. However, Castres failed to make the final after losing to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

32–21 in the semi final. Following a disappointing 2001–02 Top 16 season, Townsend returned to Scotland to play for Border Reivers. After retiring from international rugby in 2003, in December of that year Townsend signed with Super 12 South African side the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

. He played a single season for the Sharks outfit before he returned to France to play for Montpellier. In 2005, Townsend returned home to Scotland for a second time and was a player/coach for the Border Reivers until they were disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Provincial

He played for South of Scotland District in the

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...

International

He was capped by Scotland 'B' to play Ireland 'B' on 28 December 1991 and played in the Scotland 'B' side against France 'B' in the spring of 1992. He played for Scotland 'A' in the 'A' side's first match, against Spain. He received 5 'A' caps in total. Townsend made his international debut at the age of 19, coming off the bench against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 6 March 1993 during the 1993 Five Nations Championship. It wasn't until a year later that Townsend gained his second cap, which was a starting position against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

during the 1994 Five Nations Championship. He then started the next 35 tests for Scotland before he was next played off the bench. In December 1996 he represented the Barbarians, playing against Australia at Twickenham. In 1997, he was selected for the British Lions tour to South Africa by

Ian McGeechan Sir Ian Robert McGeechan, OBE (born 30 October 1946) is a retired Scottish rugby union player, coach and teacher. Born in Leeds, McGeechan represented Headingley as his only club during a 15-year club career, qualifying for Scotland through h ...

. He played in six games, including starting against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

in the first and second tests. During the 1999 Five Nations Championship, Townsend scored a try against every other country, becoming the first Scotsman since 1925 to achieve this feat. His efforts across all four games helped Scotland to claim the Championship for the first time since 1990. Later that year, he was selected for his first ever

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

, where he played in every Scotland game. However, Scotland failed to progress past the quarter-finals after losing to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

30–18. In April 2002 he became Scotland's most capped player when he overtook the 65 full international appearances achieved by Scott Hastings. He was again selected for Scotland's World Cup squad in 2003, and again played in every game. However, Scotland again did not progress past the quarter-finals, as they lost to hosts Australia 33–16. This was his last match playing for Scotland. Townsend made one appearance, playing for the French Barbarians during his stint with Montpellier, against Australia in November 2004.

Toonie flip

This is the nickname given to the reverse pass which Townsend gave to

Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 ...

for Scotland to register a dramatic and famous last-minute 23–21 victory against France in Paris in 1995.

Playing honours

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

* Five / Six Nations Championship **Winners: 1999 **Runners-up:

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, 1996 **Third: 2001 *

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...

**Winners: 2000 * Centenary Quaich **Winners: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001

*South African test series **Winners: 1997 Warringah * Shute Shield **Runners-up: 1993

* National Division Two **Winners: 1996 CA Brive * Heineken Cup **Runners-up:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

*Coupe de France **Runners-up: 2000

Coaching career

Border Reivers

On Townsend's return to Scotland, in 2005 he took up a player/coach role with Border Reivers which was where he started his coaching career. After the club disbanded in 2007, he started a Scotland mentoring program in which a number of former internationals gave specialized coaching to rising Scottish players. This included working with the top Scottish clubs,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

, and the age-grade national sides, while he also worked with the amateur/semi-pro clubs.

Scotland

In October 2008, Townsend was appointed as assistant coach for the Scotland A national side ahead of their matches in later that year. In January 2009, he was appointed backs coach for the national side, before becoming the national attack coach the following season. During Townsend's tenure, he helped Scotland to their first win over Australia since 1982 and their first win over South Africa since 2002. He was their attack coach during the 2011 Rugby World Cup where Scotland failed to advance past the pool stage.

Glasgow Warriors

In March 2012, Townsend stood down from his role with the national team and replaced Sean Lineen at Glasgow Warriors as their head coach. In Townsend's first season in charge, he maintained Glasgow's positioning in the play-offs of the Pro12, but as in the previous season under Lineen, Glasgow were knocked out by

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

in the semi-finals. As Glasgow continued to build under Townsend, they made their first final appearance after beating Munster in the semi-finals 16–15. They faced Leinster in the final, only to lose 34–12. In Europe, they continued to struggle, finishing bottom of their pool for the second consecutive season. The 2014–15 season not only saw Glasgow narrowly miss out on the knock-out stage of the European Rugby Champions Cup, with a loss to Bath in their final pool game, but they also made their second consecutive final in the Pro12. In that final, they defeated Munster 31–13 to claim their first ever Pro 12 title. During that season, Glasgow won all of their home games in the Pro 12, extending their unbeaten run at Scotstoun to 21 games. This unbeaten run came to an end when they were beaten by the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

in the opening round of the

2015–16 Pro12 The 2015–16 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fifteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the sixth with its current four-country format. it ...

season. During the 2015–16, Glasgow failed to retain their title after they were knocked out by

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

, who were later crowned champions, in the semi-finals. The 2016–17 season would be Townsend's last at Glasgow, with the announcement of him taking charge of the Scottish national side in June 2017, replacing Vern Cotter when his contract expired. In that season, Glasgow failed to make the Pro 12 play-off's for the first time since the

2010–11 Celtic League The 2010–11 Magners League was the tenth Celtic League season and the fifth with Magners as title sponsor. The regular season began on 3 September 2010 and finished on the weekend of 6–8 May 2011. During these stages, each team played every ...

season. Up until that point, they were the only club to have made all the play-offs under the current Pro 12 format. However, Glasgow did make the knockout stage of the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup, only to fall against Saracens in the quarter-finals 38–13. This was the first Glasgow side to make the top-tier competition play-off in Europe, since the 1997–98 Heineken Cup, though Glasgow did make the second-tier competition knockout stage during the 2006–07 European Challenge Cup. Townsend left the club with a 62% win rate across all competitions, winning 91 games from the 147 games coached.

Scotland

Townsend took over the head coach role for the Scotland national rugby team when the Warriors season finished in May 2017. On 8 May, Townsend named his first squad for Scotland's 2017 June tests. His first game in charge of Scotland was a 34–13 victory against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, which was backed up by a first ever win in Sydney against Australia 24–19. However, their final test on tour, an away game to Fiji, saw Scotland narrowly lose to the Flying Fijians 27–22, to see Scotland lose to the Pacific nation for the first time since 1998, the last time they played in Suva. Townsend led Scotland to a successful Autumn Internationals campaign, defeating

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

44–38 and Australia 53–24, which was a record winning margin for Scotland over Australia. Scotland also came within moments of defeating

, losing 17–22. Had it not been for a try saving tackle in the dying seconds of the game from Beauden Barrett, the score could have been equalized ahead of a potential match winning conversion. Despite much promise in their Autumn campaign, Scotland started Townsend's first Six Nations Championship with a 34–7 defeat to

. Scotland returned to winning ways in round 2, defeating

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

32–26. In round 3, Townsend led Scotland to their first victory over

since 2010, winning 25–13, their largest winning victory over England in a Six Nations game. That victory meant they extended their home victories in the Championship out to 6, something they hadn't achieved since their home wins between the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

and

1991 Five Nations Championship The 1991 Five Nations Championship was the 62nd series of the Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition between the major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams. The tournament consisted of ten matches held between 19 Ja ...

s. Despite creating chances against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, Scotland were unable to come away with the victory, losing 28–8. In the final round, it came down to a last minute penalty from Greig Laidlaw to secure a 29–27 win over

, to finish third on the table, their highest positioning since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. The 2018 June tests saw a young and inexperienced side travel to the Americas. The first game ended in a 48–10 victory over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, however the second test saw the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

claim a 30–29 win to see them earn their first victory over Scotland and a Tier 1 nation in the professional era. Despite this, Scotland went on to claim a record victory over

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, winning 44–15. Townsend's second Six Nations campaign started well with a convincing win over Italy by 33–20, with a hat-trick from Blair Kinghorn alongside tries to Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris. Scotland dominated the game until a surprising fight-back by Italy in the last 10 minutes saw the Azzurri score three times to set up a tense finish. A close-fought but chaotic loss to Ireland by 13-22 came the following week, with further losses to France (10-27) and eventual Grand Slam winners Wales (11-18) in the ensuing rounds. In the last game of the competition, Scotland faced England at home in Twickenham. The first half was almost entirely one-sided, with England racing out to a 31–0 lead in the first 30 minutes, until Stuart McInally scored a breakaway try off a charge-down from English captain

Owen Farrell Owen Andrew Farrell (born 24 September 1991) is an English professional rugby union player, currently captain of Gallagher Premiership side Saracens. Farrell has played international rugby for England since 2012. Farrell is one of the top poi ...

. The second half witnessed a stunning comeback by the Scots, with a flurry of tries to

Darcy Graham Darcy Graham (born 21 June 1997) is a Scottish professional rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland national team as a winger and fullback. Rugby union career Amateur career Graham played for Hawick Rugby ...

, Magnus Bradbury, Finn Russell and Sam Johnson putting Scotland into the lead by 38–31 with 4 minutes to go before a last-gasp try to replacement English fly-half George Ford, who then converted to level the final score at 38-38. The drawn result allowed Scotland to retain the Calcutta Cup, and was both the highest-scoring draw and the highest-scoring comeback of any rugby match on record.

Record by opponent

British & Irish Lions

Having turned down the opportunity to join Warren Gatland's the coaching staff for the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand due to having only just taken over the Head Coach role with

, Townsend was named as attack coach for the 2021 tour to South Africa.

Honours

**Winners: 2018, 2019*, 2021, 2022 (*retained through a draw) *

Auld Alliance Trophy The Auld Alliance Trophy is a trophy in rugby union awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between France and Scotland. The Trophy was first awarded in 2018, the centenary of the end of World War I, to commemorate the ...

**Winners: 2018, 2020, 2021 * Hopetoun Cup **Winners: June 2017, November 2017, 2021 * Douglas Horn Trophy **Winners: 2018 * Doddie Weir Cup **Winners: 2020

Other honours

''(as assistant coach)'' * Centenary Quaich **Winners: 2010 * Hopetoun Cup **Winners: 2009

* Pro12 **Winners: 2015 **Runners-up:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* 1872 Cup **Winners: 2013, 2014, 2017

Recognition

Townsend received an MBE in 1999 for his services to rugby.

Personal life

Townsend is married. Townsend is an advocate for mental health, and has discussed times when he felt pressure and discomfort in his career.

References

Bibliography

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) * Townsend, Gregor ''Talk of the Toony: The Autobiography of Gregor Townsend'' (HarperSport, 2007 )

External links

Townsend sets date for retirement
BBC, 2 June 2006
Townsend launches kids' summer camps
The Scotsman, 28 June 2006
Gregor Townsend's Sporting Heroes Profile
*
Townsend part Gregor groan, part Merlin
(Telegraph, 9 March 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Gregor 1973 births Living people Alumni of Aston University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Border Reivers players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa Gala RFC players Glasgow Warriors coaches Members of the Order of the British Empire Northampton Saints players People educated at Galashiels Academy Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Galashiels Scotland 'A' international rugby union players Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Scotland national rugby union team coaches Scottish expatriate rugby union players Scottish expatriate sportspeople in France Scottish expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Scottish rugby union coaches Scottish rugby union players Sharks (rugby union) players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players