The Scotland squad debrief on the pitch after their victory over Samoa at Eden Park. Image: SNS / Scottish Rugby 
SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend says discussions about his future with Scottish Rugby beyond the end of his current deal which runs out in April 2026 will start now that this summer’s Skyscanner Pacific Tour is over.
Scottish Rugby CEO Alex Williamson previously indicated that he planned to use his presence in New Zealand and Samoa with the national squad over the last three weeks as an opportunity to start contract negotiations with Townsend, but that doesn’t appear to have been the case.
“I’d imagine they [contract discussions] will start to happen but the focus has been on this week, the short turnaround, the Test matches we’ve had,” said Townsend after his team’s 41-12 victory over Samoa earlier today. “Alex has been with us for the last three games now so he’s seen how our environment works, how a Test week looks and the players we have and the culture we have. After the summer, we’ll look into that again.”
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Asked if he wants to stay beyond the end of next season’s Six Nations, Townsend demurred. “I’m not going to answer that just now. Let’s just focus on tonight’s game,” he said. “I’ll reflect on not just this tour but this season and the chance to do that is in the next few weeks.”
He also speculated that further call-ups for Scotland players to the Lions tour could be possible in the coming days. The Lions kick-off their three Test series against Australia in Brisbane tomorrow [Saturday] morning ,and with Scotland not flying home until Sunday, it would be only a short(ish) hop across the Tasman for any individuals who may be required.
“They [the Lions] have obviously got a Test match to play and they’re putting a squad together for their midweek game next week, so we’ll wait and see,” said Townsend. “It might be that there’s nobody else gets added to the squad, it might be one or two, and whether they come from our tour or elsewhere, we know that could be a possibility.
“But just now we’re delighted that Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman got through the game tonight and they can join the Lions on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Steyn was the most significant injury concern after the Samoa win.
“He had a hand injury, which we fear might be a broken bone, but he just lost his power in that hand,” explained Townsend. “It wasn’t going to be as effective, but we don’t know the extent of it yet.
“Fergus Burke failed his HIA – that’s why he didn’t come back on – but he’s fine in the changing room.
“We decided to take Rory [Sutherland] and Ewan [Ashman] off at half-time but they’re fine. I thought they played really well. That’s a real testament to what playing for Scotland means to them.They knew that we were going to be involved with the Lions in a couple of days’ time, but they fronted up and they were excellent in the first half.
“Both Matt Fagerson and Gregor Brown [who are on the comeback trail after lengthy injury lay-offs] got through the game well. I thought Gregor was excellent after having not played for a couple of months. It just shows you what a tough customer he is. The performance tonight, backing up how he played in Paris in the second half, shows that he’s a quality player too.
While scrum-half Jamie Dobie was player-of-the-match against Samoa, Townsend stressed that he was one of several performers on this tour he has been particularly impressed with.
“Jamie has had a really strong tour, a strong end to the season with this club. The ability to play both positions [scrum-half and winger] just shows you what a great rugby player he is. He’s a very good defender. There were a couple of occasions when Samoa made breaks and Jamie was involved in the hustle-back to stop those from turning into tries.
“I really want to compliment Arron Reed. He was excellent tonight and was excellent against the Maori All Blacks. He’s shown that he can be a real quality Test player. He’s got strength with his speed and his finishing, but he’s developing more and more past his game. He’s been a big plus from this tour. Losing Darcy to the Lions was a good opportunity for Aaron and he took that tonight.
“I also want to mention Grant Gilchrist, who has had to play 80 minutes a game tonight. He has really been an influential player on tour.
He’s worked with Fergus Pringle in a semi-coaching role. Both of them have worked really well together. You can see that tonight.
“I think we won 18 out of 18 line-outs. We scored a couple of maul tries. Real credit goes to Fergus Pringle and the work he’s done with the forwards, but also how Grant has played that role as a senior player and one of the coaching team on this tour.”
Townsend added: “The next two days we’ll be enjoying each other’s company because we don’t fly until Sunday, so we’ll have good fun together.
We’ll have two players, maybe more, going to the Lions on Sunday so we’ll be watching them next week and we’ll be watching our guys, obviously the Scottish midfield, that are playing tomorrow night.
“Then after that, it’s really just how we normally work between campaigns: reviewing and learning.
“I’m going to spend some time next week with Collingwood [Aussie Rules team] in Melbourne. Peter Horne had been out in New Zealand so we’re always looking for ways to get better. I think we’ll take a lot of confidence into next season on the players we have in our squad, but also how the team played this year.”