Tough calls for Townsend in finalising Scotland World Cup squad

EDINBURGH - Scotland coach Gregor Townsend admitted he had to have some difficult conversations with players left out of his 33-man World Cup squad, which was announced on Wednesday.

The Scots had begun pre-tournament preparations with 41 players and the numbers were then reduced to 37 earlier this month before Wednesday’s final cut.

Those dropped include Stuart McInally, who captained the side at the last World Cup and was hoping for a final swansong before quitting rugby later this year to become an airline pilot.

“The decisions are tough. The conversations are much tougher for the players that receive that information,” Townsend said on Wednesday.

“They've all had big goals and dreams to get to this World Cup. And for now, it's not been able to happen for them. But I've said to each player to be ready for the opportunity.

“There's bound to be players who get called up that haven't been named in the 33-man squad.”

Townsend said the preparations, which will be concluded next weekend when Scotland host Georgia in a final warm-up test, had exceeded expectations.

“It's been really enjoyable. From a coaching perspective, we've loved that. We've never seen the players train as well and the players have enjoyed spending more time with each other," the coach added.

"We've done a lot off the field, with our trips to France, and elsewhere in Scotland. Players are in really good form, have trained well, and are transferring what they're doing in training into games.”

He also emphasised the settled look about the squad with Wednesday’s squad announcement springing no real surprise.

“It’s important when you play international rugby, you've got to build cohesion. And if you can do that with settled teams, then those connections that players