Gregor Peter John Townsend (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

coach and former player who has been coaching the Scotland national team since 2017. Townsend was previously the assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won 82

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for Scotland and two for the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

. He is a former coach of

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

and was a player-coach for

Border Reivers Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...

. As well as in Scotland, he played club rugby in Australia, England, France and South Africa. As coach of Scotland, his team won at Twickenham for the first time in 38 years in 2021. Townsend was selected as attack coach for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. Townsend was awarded an MBE in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

for services to rugby.

Early life and education

Townsend was born in April 1973 in Galashiels and went to school at Galashiels Academy. He graduated in 1995 from the University of Edinburgh with an MA degree in History and Politics.

Playing career

Club

Townsend started playing for his local club

Gala RFC Gala Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. Founded in 1875, it plays its home games at Netherdale. The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division One, the second tier of Scottish c ...

, where his father had played, and came through from the mini section to senior side. In 1993, Townsend spent a season in Australia, playing for

Warringah Warringah ( ) is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to: * Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922 * E ...

in the Shute Shield. He was part of the team that came runners-up to Gordon, losing 23–19. He returned to the club in 1995 after leaving his local side Gala. In 1995, Townsend joined English side

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

for the 1995–96 Courage League National Division Two, where he helped the side to promotion to the top English division for 1996. He remained with the club for a further two seasons in the top English division before moving to France to play for Brive in the French Rugby Union Championship. Across the two seasons he played for the club, Brive did not make much success which saw Townsend move to play for

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique (, ) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They pla ...

in 2000. In Townsend's first season with Castres, the side topped Pool 1 which saw them advance through to the quarter-finals where they defeated

Colomiers Colomiers (; ; Languedocien dialect: ''Colomièrs'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitania region in Southwestern France. With a population of 39,968 as of 2019, it is the largest suburb of the city of Toulouse, to which ...

37–26. However, Castres failed to make the final after losing to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

32–21 in the semi-final. Following a disappointing 2001–02 Top 16 season, Townsend returned to Scotland to play for

. After retiring from international rugby in 2003, in December of that year Townsend signed with

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

South African side the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

. He played a single season for the Sharks outfit before he returned to France to play for

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. In 2005, Townsend returned home to Scotland for a second time and was a player/coach for the Border Reivers until they were disbanded at the end of the 2006–07 season.

Provincial

He played for South of Scotland District in the Scottish Inter-District Championship.

International

He was capped by Scotland 'B' to play Ireland 'B' on 28 December 1991 and played in the Scotland 'B' side against France 'B' in the spring of 1992. He played for Scotland 'A' in the 'A' side's first match, against Spain. He received 5 'A' caps in total. Townsend made his international debut at the age of 19, coming off the bench against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 6 March 1993 during the 1993 Five Nations Championship. It wasn't until a year later that Townsend gained his second cap, which was a starting position against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

during the 1994 Five Nations Championship. He then started the next 35 tests for Scotland before he was next played off the bench. In December 1996 he represented the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

, playing against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. In 1997, he was selected for the British Lions tour to South Africa by Ian McGeechan. He played in six games, including starting against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the first and second tests. During the 1999 Five Nations Championship, Townsend scored a try against every other country, becoming the first Scotsman since 1925 to achieve this feat. His efforts across all four games helped Scotland to claim the Championship for the first time since

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. Later that year, he was selected for his first ever

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

, where he played in every Scotland game. However, Scotland failed to progress past the quarter-finals after losing to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

30–18. In April 2002 he became Scotland's most capped player when he overtook the 65 full international appearances achieved by Scott Hastings. He was again selected for Scotland's World Cup squad in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, and again played in every game. However, Scotland again did not progress past the quarter-finals, as they lost to hosts Australia 33–16. This was his last match playing for Scotland. Townsend made one appearance, playing for the French Barbarians during his stint with Montpellier, against Australia in November 2004.

Toonie flip

This is the nickname given to the reverse pass which Townsend gave to

Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 c ...

for Scotland to register a dramatic and famous last-minute 23–21 victory against France in Paris in 1995.

Playing honours

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

* Five / Six Nations Championship **Winners:

**Runners-up:

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

**Third:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between teams of England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy con ...

**Winners: 2000 * Centenary Quaich **Winners: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001

*South African test series **Winners:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

* Shute Shield **Runners-up: 1993

* National Division Two **Winners: 1996

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

**Runners-up:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

*Coupe de France **Runners-up: 2000

Coaching career

Border Reivers

On Townsend's return to Scotland, in 2005 he took up a player/coach role with Border Reivers which was where he started his coaching career. After the club disbanded in 2007, he started a Scotland mentoring program in which a number of former internationals gave specialized coaching to rising Scottish players. This included working with the top Scottish clubs,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

, and the age-grade national sides, while he also worked with the amateur/semi-pro clubs.

Scotland

In October 2008, Townsend was appointed as assistant coach for the Scotland A national side ahead of their matches in later that year. In January 2009, he was appointed backs coach for the national side, before becoming the national attack coach the following season. During Townsend's tenure, he helped Scotland to their first win over Australia since 1982 and their first win over South Africa since 2002. He was their attack coach during the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

where Scotland failed to advance past the pool stage.

Glasgow Warriors

In March 2012, Townsend stood down from his role with the national team and replaced Sean Lineen at Glasgow Warriors as their head coach. In Townsend's first season in charge, he maintained Glasgow's positioning in the play-offs of the Pro12, but as in the previous season under Lineen, Glasgow were knocked out by

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in the semi-finals. As Glasgow continued to build under Townsend, they made their first final appearance after beating

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in the semi-finals 16–15. They faced Leinster in the final, only to lose 34–12. In Europe, they continued to struggle, finishing bottom of their pool for the second consecutive season. The 2014–15 season not only saw Glasgow narrowly miss out on the knock-out stage of the European Rugby Champions Cup, with a loss to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in their final pool game, but they also made their second consecutive final in the Pro12. In that final, they defeated Munster 31–13 to claim their first ever Pro 12 title. During that season, Glasgow won all of their home games in the Pro 12, extending their unbeaten run at

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

to 21 games. This unbeaten run came to an end when they were beaten by the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

in the opening round of the 2015–16 Pro12 season. During the 2015–16, Glasgow failed to retain their title after they were knocked out by

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

, who were later crowned champions, in the semi-finals. The 2016–17 season would be Townsend's last at Glasgow, with the announcement of him taking charge of the Scottish national side in June 2017, replacing

Vern Cotter Vernon Anthony Cotter (born 27 January 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He currently coaches the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby. He started his coaching career at Bay of Plenty including winning the Ranfur ...

when his contract expired. In that season, Glasgow failed to make the Pro 12 play-off's for the first time since the 2010–11 Celtic League season. Up until that point, they were the only club to have made all the play-offs under the current Pro 12 format. However, Glasgow did make the knockout stage of the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup, only to fall against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

in the quarter-finals 38–13. This was the first Glasgow side to make the top-tier competition play-off in Europe, since the

1997–98 Heineken Cup The 1997–98 Heineken Cup was the third edition of the Heineken Cup European rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Euro ...

, though Glasgow did make the second-tier competition knockout stage during the 2006–07 European Challenge Cup. Townsend left the club with a 62% win rate across all competitions, winning 91 games from the 147 games coached.

Scotland

Townsend took over the head coach role for the Scotland national rugby team when the Warriors season finished in May 2017. On 8 May, Townsend named his first squad for Scotland's 2017 June tests. His first game in charge of Scotland was a 34–13 victory against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, which was backed up by a first ever win in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

against

24–19. However, their final test on tour, an away game to

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, saw Scotland narrowly lose to the Flying Fijians 27–22, to see Scotland lose to the Pacific nation for the first time since 1998, the last time they played in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

. Townsend led Scotland to a successful Autumn Internationals campaign, defeating

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

44–38 and Australia 53–24, which was a record winning margin for Scotland over Australia. Scotland also came within moments of defeating

, losing 17–22. Had it not been for a try saving tackle in the dying seconds of the game from

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Bunnings NPC. Barrett won the World Rugby Player of the Year awards ...

, the score could have been equalized ahead of a potential match winning conversion. Despite much promise in their Autumn campaign, Scotland started Townsend's first

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

with a 34–7 defeat to

. Scotland returned to winning ways in round 2, defeating

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

32–26. In round 3, Townsend led Scotland to their first victory over

since 2010, winning 25–13, their largest winning victory over England in a Six Nations game. That victory meant they extended their home victories in the Championship out to 6, something they hadn't achieved since their home wins between the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and 1991 Five Nations Championships. Despite creating chances against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Scotland were unable to come away with the victory, losing 28–8. In the final round, it came down to a last minute penalty from

Greig Laidlaw Greig Laidlaw (born 12 October 1985) is a Scottish former professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half and as a fly-half. Laidlaw holds the record for most caps as captain, 39, of the Scottish national team. He also represented ...

to secure a 29–27 win over

, to finish third on the table, their highest positioning since

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. The 2018 June tests saw a young and inexperienced side travel to the Americas. The first game ended in a 48–10 victory over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, however the second test saw the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

claim a 30–29 win to see them earn their first victory over Scotland and a Tier 1 nation in the professional era. Despite this, Scotland went on to claim a record victory over

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, winning 44–15. Townsend's second Six Nations campaign started well with a convincing win over Italy by 33–20, with a hat-trick from Blair Kinghorn alongside tries to Stuart Hogg and Chris Harris. Scotland dominated the game until a surprising fight-back by Italy in the last 10 minutes saw the Azzurri score three times to set up a tense finish. A close-fought but chaotic loss to Ireland by 13-22 came the following week, with further losses to France (10-27) and eventual Grand Slam winners Wales (11-18) in the ensuing rounds. In the last game of the competition, Scotland faced England at home in Twickenham. The first half was almost entirely one-sided, with England racing out to a 31–0 lead in the first 30 minutes, until Stuart McInally scored a breakaway try off a charge-down from English captain

Owen Farrell Owen Andrew Farrell (born Owen Andrew O'Loughlin, 24 September 1991) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Saracens F.C., Saracens. He was the England captain fr ...

. The second half witnessed a stunning comeback by the Scots, with a flurry of tries to Darcy Graham, Magnus Bradbury, Finn Russell and Sam Johnson putting Scotland into the lead by 38–31 with 4 minutes to go before a last-gasp try to replacement English fly-half George Ford, who then converted to level the final score at 38-38. The drawn result allowed Scotland to retain the Calcutta Cup, and was both the highest-scoring draw and the highest-scoring comeback of any rugby match on record.

Record by opponent

British & Irish Lions

Having turned down the opportunity to join Warren Gatland's the coaching staff for the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand due to having only just taken over the Head Coach role with

, Townsend was named as attack coach for the 2021 tour to South Africa.

Honours

**Winners: 2018, 2019*, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 (*retained through a draw) * Auld Alliance Trophy **Winners: 2018, 2020, 2021 * Hopetoun Cup **Winners: June 2017, November 2017, 2021, 2024 * Douglas Horn Trophy **Winners: 2018, 2024 * Doddie Weir Cup **Winners: 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025 * Cuttitta Cup **Winners: 2022, 2023, 2025

Other honours

''(as assistant coach)'' * Centenary Quaich **Winners: 2010 * Hopetoun Cup **Winners: 2009

* Pro12 **Winners:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

**Runners-up:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

1872 Cup The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby. Under the current format, Glasgow Warriors and Ed ...

**Winners: 2013, 2014, 2017

Recognition

Townsend received an MBE in 1999 for his services to rugby.

Personal life

Townsend is married. Townsend is an advocate for mental health, and has discussed times when he felt pressure and discomfort in his career.

References

Bibliography

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) * Townsend, Gregor ''Talk of the Toony: The Autobiography of Gregor Townsend'' (HarperSport, 2007 )

External links

Townsend sets date for retirement
BBC, 2 June 2006
Townsend launches kids' summer camps
The Scotsman, 28 June 2006
Gregor Townsend's Sporting Heroes Profile
*
Townsend part Gregor groan, part Merlin
(Telegraph, 9 March 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Gregor 1973 births Living people People educated at Galashiels Academy Alumni of Aston University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Border Reivers players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Scottish expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa Gala RFC players Glasgow Warriors coaches Members of the Order of the British Empire Northampton Saints players Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Galashiels Scotland A international rugby union players Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Scotland national rugby union team coaches Scottish expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Scottish rugby union coaches Scottish rugby union players Sharks (rugby union) players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players Warringah Rugby Club players CA Brive players