Gregor Townsend has been quite fortunate with his new jobs since he became a coach.
He got a free pass to be Scotland attack coach from Andy Robinson despite having no previous top-level experience. He then took over a firm foundation from Sean Lineen at Glasgow.
Now he inherits a similar strong situation from Vern Cotter for Scotland. Apart from getting accustomed to much more scrutiny – “that took a little longer than it did at Glasgow” he joked after a three-pronged session with the media at Murrayfield – the handover ought to be relatively seamless, given exactly half of the 34-strong squad he’s picked for the three match tour are Glasgow players he’s seen week-to-week.
However Townsend was canny enough to admit that the main task will be getting the other 17 on to his wavelength and that doing so be mostly down to him. “As a Scotland rugby supporter I know them all well as players, but I need to get to know them as people,” he said.
He’s got a three week preparatory camp to do just that, a luxury not afforded to many previous coaches before summer tours. But everyone involved in Scottish rugby has a vested interest in ensuring Townsend is a success.
His selections are actually more logical than those made latterly by Cotter. No one who watched Edinburgh this year could doubt that Ben Toolis deserved to tour ahead of Grant Gilchrist. Similarly, a choice between a fit Magnus Bradbury and Cornell du Preez is not really a choice at all.
Of the rest, there were few signs of particular Townsend preferences. Perhaps Lee Jones, but the wing has transformed his career since moving to Glasgow and deserved a shot no matter who was coach. Similarly, Nick Grigg has been a revelation with the Warriors and with Huw Jones out injured had to tour.
The uncapped D’Arcy Rae ahead of Simon Berghan would appear to be one specific choice and maybe also Ruaridh Jackson – a long-time Townsend favourite – getting a recall ahead of Duncan Weir.
The one curiousity is George Turner, just one start for Edinburgh in four years but who has impressed Townsend somehow along the way, but he is only third hooker.