Psychologist helps Scotland get over Argentina implosion amid open, honest discussions

Thom, the British Olympic team’s lead psychologist, has been part of Gregor Townsend’s support staff for over a year now but there remains a fragility within the national squad which was all too evident in Sunday’s 33-24 loss at Murrayfield.

From being 21-0 ahead in the Argentina 22 in the 54th minute, Scotland imploded in spectacular fashion, conceding five tries to a revived Pumas side that had previously looked declawed.

It was an extreme example of this side’s ability to unravel but not the only one. They lost 31-29 to Italy in Rome last year after being 22-10 in front. They have also almost blown 27-point leads against Wales in each of the past two seasons. In 2024 they hung on to win 27-26 and last season they prevailed 35-29 having been 35-8 up early in the second half.

Open and honest discussions

Townsend acknowledged it was an issue but insisted it had happened to lots of teams. The coach said it was addressed with honesty and clarity in meetings this week ahead of Scotland’s final autumn game, against Tonga at Murrayfield on Sunday.

“It was an open, honest discussion and it's a bit of everything,” he said. “Sometimes it's a detail on what we're actually doing there and what our response is going to be. Sometimes it's just that focus on that next job that we have to perform and performing it really well.

“It's not one thing of getting the momentum back, but we've obviously discussed that this week and we really feel strongly that the players are in a better place now than they were before.”

Thom, a former competitive figure skater, deployed a number of mental strategies to help athletes cope with the pressure of competing at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and Townsend said she had made a valuable contribution.

“Her role is to work with individual players, with me and the coaching staff,” he said. “She's been really helpful to me over the last couple of campaigns, and the group, because a lot of what we do in the rugby field isn't what our next play is. It's a response to things that are putting us under pressure, but are making us do things we don't want to do. That could be scoreboard, that could be thoughts in your head, not connecting with your group, so she's been excellent in that regard.”

The coach said it had been “a big week of meetings” and “a real deep dive on how we could be better in that final 20-25 minutes”.

“I think it's just been really honest and I can't talk about the details,” said Townsend. “There have been very long meetings, a lot longer than we planned. That's not much footage shown, more discussions.

“There's been a variety of meetings. I've met every player this week. We've met in small groups, we've met in forwards and backs, we've had team meetings and players have had their own meetings.

“The quality of discussions and the honesty of discussions around them peer-to-peer as well as coach-to-player are the best I've seen. I've coached for a while now and I've experienced defeats and victories at club level and international level. I can't fast forward two months and go, well, this defeat has really made us address certain issues.

“I'm really encouraged by what the discussions were around and how they were conducted by the players. We just have to make sure that it does bring the outcomes this team deserves or can earn with the ability we have here.”

Won’t walk away

This is the nub of the issue. The current squad is widely regarded as one of the most talented to have represented Scotland, certainly in the professional era, but have little tangible to show for it. Pool stage exits at two World Cups and a highest Six Nations finish of third are poor returns. Townsend, who has been in post for eight years and recently signed a contract extension which takes him to the end of the 2027 World Cup, believes he is still the man to lead and so too, crucially, do his paymasters, despite the difficult week.

“I was obviously pretty down after Sunday night but it's been such a busy week and a week to really properly coach and connect with players,” added Townsend.

“This job is not just about winning and enjoying the wins. It's about dealing with the defeats and whether that can make you stronger or not. I believe it will.”

Asked if he had considered walking away, Townsend was emphatic. “No, I've got a job to do,” he said.

There will be a review after the autumn series, as there is at the conclusion of every campaign, but Townsend would appear to have the backing of both Alex Williamson, Scottish Rugby’s chief executive, and David Nucifora, the consultant performance director.

14 changes for Tonga

The November Tests at Murrayfield began with an emphatic 85-0 over the USA, continued with the 25-17 loss to New Zealand and then the Argentina implosion. For the finale against Tonga, Townsend has made wholesale changes, retaining only captain Sione Tuipulotu from the side that started last Sunday.

Finn Russell, Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, Rory Hutchinson, Jamie Dobie, Pierre Schoeman, Scott Cummings, Grant Gilchrist, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey have all dropped out of the match-day 23. In addition, Gregor Brown and D’arcy Rae are missing through injury.

In their place come a number of fresh faces. Back-rowers Jamie Ritchie and Andy Onyeama-Christie will both make their first appearance of the campaign, as will Saracens stand-off Fergus Burke. There are first starts of the autumn for Tom Jordan - selected at full-back - and Magnus Bradbury, at No 8. Will Hurd is also likely to get his first taste of action in this series having been selected as replacement tighthead.

Most heartening of all is the return of Zander Fagerson after seven months out with injuries. The Glasgow Warriors prop, who missed the Lions tour, will start against Tonga.

Tuipulotu will be partnered at centre by his Glasgow team-mate Ollie Smith and there is also a start for scrum-half Ben White who had been due to play against the Pumas but withdrew before kick-off due to illness. The match will see hooker George Turner win his 50th Scotland cap.

The sides last met at the 2023 World Cup in Nice when Scotland won 45-17 and anything other than a similarly convincing victory on Sunday could make Townsend’s autumn review decidedly uncomfortable.