Borderer Gregor Townsend to carry on as Scottish national rugby team head coach for another two years
Borderer Gregor Townsend is already the Scottish national rugby team’s longest-serving head coach ever, having been in that post for the last eight years, and he’s now agreed to extend his time in charge to a decade.
The Galashiels 52-year-old took over from New Zealand’s Vern Cotter as Scotland head coach in May 2017 and overtook the prior record of six successive years set by the national team’s first head coach, the late Bill Dickinson, in charge from 1971 to 1977, two years ago.
He’s also now neck and neck with Ian McGeechan on eight years all together, the West Yorkshire-born 78-year-old having held the post twice, from 1988 to 1993 and 2000 to 2003.
Townsend’s new contract runs until the end of the year after next, following overseeing his third Rugby World Cup campaign in Australia.
His first game as head coach was a 34-13 summer test win versus Italy in Singapore and he’s on course to hit the 100-mark during 2026’s Six Nations.
Former Gala and Border Reivers back Townsend, capped as a player 82 times between 1993 and 2003, describes being asked to stay on as an honour.
“Being Scotland head coach is a massive honour for me personally, a true privilege,” he said.
“The opportunity to coach my country at another Rugby World Cup is exciting and I am hugely motivated to help the team perform to their potential.
“Over recent years, I have been really encouraged by the progress the team have made and the depth we have built in a number of positions.
“The experiences from our summer tour and also the British and Irish Lions tour will add an extra layer to our group. Having 12 players out on the Lions tour was tremendous for Scottish rugby and the players.
“It’s going to be an exciting build-up period to the world cup, with the potential of a new competition for our summer and autumn fixtures in 2026, as well as two Six Nations championships for us to attack, and this November we have a cracking run of home fixtures, which will include celebrating the centenary of our national stadium when we take on New Zealand. That occasion will underline the importance we place on connection to our supporters and our history.
“There is a real belief within the squad that they can achieve special things and I can’t wait to work with them again to help make that happen.”
Scottish Rugby performance director David Nucifora and chief executive officer Alex Williamson are both glad to be keeping Townsend on board.
Australia’s Nucifora, 63, said: “Gregor is one of the most well-respected coaches in world rugby.
“The strength that this continuity of appointment brings, in addition to the increased high-performance resources being made available, places Scottish rugby in a strong position leading into the next Rugby World Cup.
“He has built an impressive squad with increased depth across a number of positions that are now coming into their prime regarding international experience.
“We are excited about what is to come from the men’s national team in the coming years and Gregor is the best person to take them forward.”
Williamson, 51, added: “Having toured with the Scotland squad this summer, I witnessed first hand the impressive culture that Gregor has developed and saw how connected and motivated the playing group are. That cohesion will be vitally important for the national team to be successful in the future.
“We have an exciting group of players which Gregor has nurtured, and I believe he is the right man to drive us forward.
“I have talked in the past about the importance of continuity in our men’s coaching environments, both because we believe we have excellent individuals in our structure and because it allows us to embed our high-performance reorganisation with coaches who are already fully committed to this critically important and substantial investment. I look forward to seeing Gregor and the men’s national team being early beneficiaries of the changes.”
Townsend’s two world cups to date have both seen his team make pool-stage exits, on two wins from four games in Japan in 2019 and the same again in France in 2023.
His eight Six Nations campaigns have yielded finishes in third place in 2018 and 2023; fourth in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025; and fifth in 2019.