All posts tagged: Gregor

Gregor Townsend a ‘wonderful coach’ and Scots should back him

Gregor Townsend a ‘wonderful coach’ and Scots should back him

The story behind Steve Borthwick’s selection for Calcutta Cup match in Edinburgh on Saturday, is not the two changes he has made, with Luke Cowan-Dickie starting at hooker and Maro Itoje returning to captain the side at lock. Nor is it the decision to retain Henry Arundell on the wing despite the return to fitness of Ollie Lawrence, or the dropping of Marcus Smith from the 23-man squad following the victory over Wales. No, the biggest take-away is from what Borthwick did not do, and that was switch Tommy Freeman, a wing for his club Northampton Saints and the British and Irish Lions, from outside centre, where he started against Wales. It is something Borthwick must have considered when Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was forced to pull out with a hamstring injury at the 11th hour ahead of the Wales game, but instead the England head coach opted to bring in Tom Roebuck, who had only just recovered from a broken toe. Again, with Lawrence fully fit this week having recovered from a knee injury, the Bath …