Scotland’s new defence coach Lee Radford believes Gregor Townsend‘s side are ready to come into full bloom.
The Englishman arrived in Edinburgh earlier this week to begin his role with the Scots as they gear up for their November Tests against the United States, New Zealand, Argentina and Tonga.
Radford – appointed successor to Steve Tandy, who left in July to become Wales’ head coach – feels he has joined the Scotland set-up at a time when their key players are entering “their best years” and ready to deliver on their promise.
“I think fundamentally I’ve always had an ambition to coach at an international level,” Radford said at a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s an opportunity to coach some of the best players in the world, and it’s not one you pass up on.
“I think there’s two real pluses for this group. The average age is a good age. It’s coming up to their best years almost. Secondly, the amount of caps they’ve consistently played together. The cohesion amongst the group is another strength.”
Radford, who will continue to combine his Scotland job with his role as Northampton’s defence coach until the end of the season, is excited about building on the foundations laid by predecessor Tandy.
“Normally when you get a job it’s on the back end of somebody else not doing something so great but I’ve come into a job where you look across the board and they’re in a good space defensively,” he said.
“They’re a sound defensive team. System-wise, the stats don’t lie. They’re very tackle efficient, very line-break efficient. There’s a couple of other little bits I really want to get after.
“I’ve only been in three days but the buy-in has been really big. Even speaking to the senior players or the defensive leaders, they were singing from the same hymn sheet as well, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Radford hopes Scotland can show the “killer instinct” required to deliver some big results next month.
“I think knocking one or two of those sides off, starting with the games coming up, the All Blacks game and Argentina, it won’t do us any harm,” he said.
“I think Scotland have shown over the last couple of seasons how well they can compete, and having a little bit of that killer instinct amongst the big boys is obviously the next step.”
PA
