Gregor Townsend has yet to have talks on his future (Picture: PA)
Gregor Townsend has admitted this could be his last Six Nations as Scotland head coach as he confirmed he has had no talks about extending his contract beyond the end of this year.
Speculation has been rife that the 49-year-old – who took the reins in the summer of 2017 – will be leaving his post after the World Cup in the autumn.
After naming his 40-man squad for the Six Nations, Townsend admitted he could be leading his country into the tournament for the last time.
He said: ‘Yes, absolutely. I’m not contracted beyond this year, so of course.
‘No discussions have been had and I don’t see them taking place until after the Six Nations.’
Townsend does not believe uncertainty over his future will adversely affect his squad.
Townsend said his status is the last thing on the Scotland squad’s minds (Picture: PA)
He insisted: ‘No, I think it will be the last thing on the players’ minds. We have a really important year of rugby.
‘The Six Nations is a massive part of that. So much work has to go in for these five games that nothing else really comes into anybody’s thoughts.’
Asked if he would like to have his future sorted before the World Cup, he said: ‘Yes, of course. But we’ll just have to wait and see.’
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Reports in France claimed Townsend had applied for a role as assistant coach with their national team, while he has also been linked with Leicester.
He added: ‘I did get a contact from France, but it was just an initial enquiry. We obviously play France in the Six Nations so I didn’t want to talk any further with them about that.
‘Nothing about Leicester. I read that with some surprise. Most of the things I’ve read are speculation.’
Scotland’s Six Nations squad
Forwards
Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti, Fraser Brown, Dave Cherry, Andy Christie, Luke Crosbie, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Grant Gilchrist, Jonny Gray, Richie Gray, Cameron Henderson, WP Nel, Jamie Ritchie C, Pierre Schoeman, Javan Sebastian, Sam Skinner, Rory Sutherland, George Turne, Hamish Watson
Backs
Chris Harris, Ben Healy, Stuart Hogg, George Horne, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Sean Maitland, Ruaridh McConnochie, Stafford McDowall, Ali Price, Cameron Redpath, Finn Russell, Ollie Smith, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White
MORE : Scotland coach Gregor admits his side should have beaten All Blacks
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Speculation has been rife that he’ll leave after the World Cup.
