Gregor Townsend defends Americas tour as ‘energised’ Scotland showing no signs of fatigue

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has defended his team’s four-match Americas tour that is set to come to a conclusion against Uruguay in Montevideo this weekend.

The Scots have defeated Canada, USA and Chile so far and while other rival sides are enjoying a welcome rest, Townsend’s team have one final fixture before their break.

It has been a long season for all international players with the 2023 Rugby World Cup that included warm-up internationals prior to it only adding to the arduous schedule.

Real freshness

However, Townsend has stood by the tour and insists his players are well managed and also believes that these Test matches across the pond have been a welcome change.

“This is what a season looks like when it is a World Cup year, and it’s very similar when it is a Lions year,” said the Scotland head coach ahead of this Saturday’s last match.

“Everyone was aware of that at the beginning of the season so players have had different rest periods. Some rested after the World Cup, some are obviously getting a break now so it’s not as if they’ve been training and playing without a break since that period last May.

“They’re very well managed in their clubs, particularly the guys based in Scotland, and what we’ve seen from them on this tour is a real freshness and sharpness.

Scotland rookie reflects on ‘pretty surreal’ season for club and country

“We check the GPS regularly and players are hitting their top speeds, they’re working really hard to finish the season on a high. And often a change is as good as a rest, going on a tour when you’re going to new venues, like Uruguay this week, it does energise you.

“We’ve seen that energy and there’s also energy from young players coming into the camp and who have changed up the mood in the group as well, so, no, I don’t see any signs of fatigue but we know the players will have earned the break they’re going to get after this tour, for sure.”

Scotland will be looking to sign off with a flourish against Uruguay and for Duhan van der Merwe it is an opportunity to become the nation’s leading try-scorer. Currently he is level with Stuart Hogg on 27 crossings and the wing will look to surpass that mark in a game that will also see outside centre Huw Jones run out for his 50th international cap.

While it could be a special day for the pair, youngsters have also benefited from the tour as Townsend responded to those who have criticised Scotland’s level of opponent.

“We didn’t choose this, the summer tour schedules are given to you and you’ve got to make the most of it,” the coach said of their one-sided fixtures during the past month.

“Initially it was two games against Canada and America and we decided to extend that to make it a period where we could bring more players on tour and I believe we’ll get the benefits.

“We’re already getting the benefits of players playing Test rugby and realising how special it is and they’ll be hugely motivated to do it again, to be around the Test environment with the coaches we have here and particularly the Test players.

“It’s about growing our depth and we’ve had other challenges, such as going into games where your favourites, and so far the players have delivered very well on sticking to task and playing all the way to the end.”

The teams

Uruguay: 15 Ignacio Álvarez, 14 Juan Bautista Hontou, 13 Juan Manuel Alonso, 12 Tomás Inciarte, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 10 Felipe Etcheverry, 9 Santiago Álvarez, 8 Carlos Deus, 7 Lucas Bianchi, 6 Manuel Ardao, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 4 Felipe Aliaga, 3 Diego Arbelo, 2 Guillermo Pujadas, 1 Ignacio Peculo
Replacements: 16 Joaquín Myszka, 17 Mateo Sanguinetti, 18 Reinaldo Piussi, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Santiago Civetta, 21 Manuel Diana, 22 Santiago Gini, 23 Joaquín Suárez

Scotland: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 George Horne, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Rory Darge (c), 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Murphy Walker, 19 Gregor Brown, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Kyle Steyn

Date: Saturday, July 27
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Kick-off: 17:00 local (20:00 BST)
Referee: Damian Schneider (UAR)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

READ MORE: Huw Jones ‘super proud’ of Scotland milestone as setbacks make him ‘appreciate it a lot more’