Gregor Townsend dismisses talk of stepping down after Scotland’s defeat to ItalyBy Anthony Brown, Press Association, RomeUnder-fire head coach Gregor Townsend dismissed any notion that he would step down after Scotland suffered a disastrous Guinness Six Nations start by losing 18-15 to Italy in rain-lashed Rome. Asked if he still had the appetite to soldier on, Townsend said: “Absolutely, we’ve got a game in seven days’ time. Townsend said he “100 per cent” acknowledged why there would be a backlash to a result that sees Italy leapfrog Scotland in the world rankings. They mean a huge amount to us and we’re really disappointed for them that we didn’t find a way to win,” said Townsend. I thought we were really well prepared, but ultimately we just didn’t execute out there in the conditions.”

Source: Irish Independent February 08, 2026 09:11 UTC