GREGOR Townsend has confirmed he will continue to work with Glasgow assistants Matt Taylor and Dan McFarland when he takes over as Scotland head coach next season.
Australian-born former Edinburgh and Border Reivers flanker Taylor will extend his spell with the national team after combining defence coach roles with both the Warriors and Scotland for more than four seasons, while former Connacht, Richmond and Stade Francais player McFarland will join the national set-up.
The reorganisation will see current Scotland assistant coaches Jonathan Humphreys and Jason O’Halloran join incoming Glasgow head coach Dave Rennie at Scotstoun next term.
In a statement, Townsend said: “I have known Matt since our playing days and he has developed into an outstanding defence coach since hanging up his boots, winning Super Rugby with the Reds and the Pro12 while at Glasgow.
“He is always striving to improve and it’s great that we’ll continue to learn together over the next few years.
“Dan has done a fantastic job since arriving at Glasgow last season, and before that in Ireland. He is able to combine forensic detail from the technical side of the game with a love of learning and looking to bring out the best in his players.
Taylor is delighted to continue his partnership with Townsend.
“Gregor and I have known each other for a long time and have a really good understanding of each other’s coaching philosophies, having developed many of them together as players a number of years ago,” the 44-year-old said.
“The thing that struck us as players was that we were both very keen on our coaching and would often discuss drills and activities as we became excited about the next step in our careers.
“The reality of those conversations is that we’re now set to coach together for Scotland, which is very exciting.”
McFarland joined Glasgow in the summer of 2015 after ending a nine-year coaching stint at Connacht.
“It’s a great honour to be asked to coach a national side and all the more so because I know many of the players who represent Scotland through my work with Glasgow,” he said.
Meanwhile, Glasgow lock Tim Swinson has promised a reaction against Treviso after Warriors refused to accept defeat by Munster without a serious review.
Glasgow went down 38-17 in a highly-charged European Champions Cup tie in Limerick last Saturday as the home team and supporters paid tribute to former skipper and head coach Anthony Foley 24 hours after his funeral.
But Swinson and his teammates refused to use the exceptional circumstances as an excuse for their defeat and want to put matters right when they return to action against the Italians at Scotstoun on Friday.
“No-one has accepted the loss, he said. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, we went to play Munster at a tough time’.
“I know sometimes people could take it as a one-off but a lot of people here are frustrated and angry.
“We are a really good attacking side when we play how Glasgow play, and we didn’t show that.”
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