by Performance director David Nucifora declined that Gregor Townsend had run his course at Scotland after he had a contract extension and the chance of leading his country to a third Rugby World Championship.
There was speculation about the future of the 52-year-old, whereby his previous deal was triggered after the past year and the examination of his position after fourth place in the championship and consecutive Pool stage outputs at the World Cups 2019 and 2023.
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Nucifora, who monitored a restructuring of Scottish rugby last year, spoke of “power and value of continuity” after he had rewarded him with a new deal, which will start it in Australia until the end of the 2027 World Cup, which will start a little more than a decade after his responsibility in summer 2017.
“Gregor is constantly trying to improve,” said Nucifora at a press conference in Edinburgh. “He is a curious coach, he wants to find ways to develop himself personally, but also to further develop the team.
“I think as soon as you lose this drive and curiosity and the search for improvement, you know that head coach probably led your time and that Gregor is definitely not in this room. He is so sharp or sharper than ever.”
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Nucifora believes that Townsend and its players will benefit from a restructuring within Scottish rugby, in which five high -quality department heads were recruited in summer, while “a variety of other positions were occupied in summer to support this”.
“I’m looking for Gregor to build on the good work he did,” said Nucifora. “He is now in a position in which we have a team that matures well and leads to a World Cup in 2027.
“He will now also work in a program that is fully supported.
Gregor Townsend’s “Hunger” for improvement impressed his bosses (Jane Barlow/Pa)
“It is not just Gregor who tries to lead the national team, but now has a high -performance department around him, which has a lot more support to help much more to produce what he tries to produce.”
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On the longest, the longest-standing head coach of the professional era-War was not present at the press conference, but said in a press release that it was “a massive award” and “a true privilege” and that he “remained very motivated to help the team to design his potential.
While it was ultimately Nukifora’s call, Scottish Rugby managing director Alex Williamson, who was appointed at the beginning of this year.
“It makes sense for me that we keep very talented coaches who really understand the Scottish system,” said Williamson.
“Gregor keeps an enormous enthusiasm and a great feeling of pride, and these two things together are very powerful.
“But what makes him really interesting – and after he spent a lot of time with him on tour in summer – is that he is incredibly hungry for development as an individual and in his area and I found it really impressive.
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“Of course, David is the guideline in this organization in relation to the approach that we pursue to our coaching setup, but since David and I started working together, he was absolutely clear that Gregor is a first-class coach who runs an extraordinary environment.
“And after I spent the best part of a month in this area – and I think I have a good feeling about what looked functional or dysfunctional – I was very impressed and calmed from it, so it was an obvious decision for us.”
