In a bid to reduce losses incurred by PSL franchises, the PCB has reduced the salary cap to assemble a full squad from USD 1.38 million to USD 1.1 million.

PSL franchises have struggled to turn a profit ever since the start of the tournament in 2016. In January this year, the original five - Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators - reported losses of PKR 200 million to 700 million (USD 1.4 million to USD 5 million approx) after just the first two seasons.

The PCB met with representatives from all six teams on Monday and, in addition to bringing down the salary cap, it also exempted them from paying their bank guarantee, a combined value of USD 14.51 million, ahead of the 2020 season.

"We had fruitful discussions with our valued partners and we have found a way forward," said PCB's Chief Executive Wasim Khan. "In the days ahead, our preparations for the HBL PSL 2020 season will continue in full swing, we are committed to staging the entire edition in Pakistan and the franchises are on-board with us."

ESPNcricinfo understands that the change to the salary cap happened after an understanding that a majority of the players who play the PSL participate in other franchise-based T20 leagues for lower wages.

PCB had earlier classified the US$ 1.38 million purse into five categories: Platinum (USD 570,000), Diamond (USD 270,000), Gold (USD 180,000), Silver (USD 140,000), and Emerging (USD 25,000) with provision for an extra USD 175,000 for supplement players.

In comparison, and according to an internal PCB document, IPL franchises spend USD 11.8 million on players, CPL USD 0.764 million, Global T20 Canada USD 0.65 million, while the postponed Euro T20 Slam had a pocket of USD 0.65m approximately.

The financial structure has caused plenty of friction between the PCB and PSL franchises and hit its peak when the board was late in distributing the franchises' share of the revenue generated during the 2019 season. This led to all six owners refusing to submit their bank guarantee. Pushed to a corner, the PSL's general council met in Karachi along with PCB chairman Ehsan Mani to deliberate on the matter. Qalandars and Multan Sultans were represented by their owners themselves while the rest of the teams sent proxies.

The falling value of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar has been another bone of contention. At the time of signing the franchise agreement in 2016, the exchange rate pegged the Pakistani Rupee at 105 to the dollar. That value has now slumped to 154.

In what could be seen as some consolation for the owners, the PCB has agreed to lock this conversion to PKR 138.50. Further, the PCB will engage with a consultant to evaluate the financial model and advise the PCB to find a middle ground.

Bradley Chubb has a partially torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season, a "huge loss" for the winless Denver Broncos.

Broncos coach Vic Fangio confirmed that Chubb, the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft, suffered the season-ending injury in Denver's 26-24 loss Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"It's a huge loss," Fangio said Monday. "He's a tempo-setter, a great person, a great leader."

Fangio said Chubb had discomfort in his knee Monday morning and was sent for an MRI, which revealed the partial tear. The star outside linebacker left Sunday's game twice -- first for a calf injury, then for the knee injury -- before returning to the lineup to close out the contest.

"He felt good enough to come back in and actually he played that last series pretty damn well," Fangio said. "[He] had some really good pass rushes, caused that fumble that [we] weren't able to get. So he was as surprised, I think, as anybody this morning when he woke up feeling the way he did."

Chubb suffered the injury with just over 14 minutes remaining when he was engaged with Jaguars tight end Geoff Swaim on a run by running back Ryquell Armstead. In all he played 74 of the team's 85 snaps on defense, including all of the snaps on the Jaguars' game-winning drive in the closing minutes.

Fangio said the Broncos will have to consider their options to both fill Chubb's large presence in the defense as well as his roster spot. Rookies Malik Reed and Justin Hollins could be part of the equation, but the Broncos will likely have to add a linebacker.

"It's a huge loss, he's one of our better players obviously,'' Fangio said of Chubb. "He's a tempo setter, great player, great person, leader, all of that.''

Veteran outside linebacker Dekoda Watson, who was with the Broncos during the preseason, is currently a free agent and is another possibility.

In terms of recovery, Chubb won't have to look far for advice. Von Miller tore his ACL in December of the 2013 season and has had at least 10 sacks in each of the next five seasons entering this year.

The Boston Red Sox missed the playoffs, so there will be a new champion in 2019. Will the Houston Astros take home their second title in three years? Or can the Los Angeles Dodgers get over the final hurdle and take home their first championship since 1988?

Or will it be a surprise team like the Washington Nationals or Minnesota Twins?

With the postseason set to start Tuesday with the NL wild-card game, we asked 30 of our MLB experts -- from ESPN.com, TV, Stats & Information and more -- to give us their predictions: wild-card game winners, division series winners, league championship series winners and World Series winner.

Below are the vote totals along with analysis from some of our experts.

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National League wild-card game: Brewers at Nationals, Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET (TBS)

Nationals: 23
Brewers: 7

You went against chalk and picked the Brewers. Why?

On paper, this one screams Nationals. They have the better offense and Max Scherzer on the mound -- with Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin available in relief. So this is mostly a gut pick. Given their recent playoff history, all the pressure is on the Nationals and Scherzer has been a little leaky of late with a 5.16 ERA in September. The Brewers are riding that end-of-season momentum, plus Lorenzo Cain will probably make two diving catches in center field and rob Juan Soto of a home run.-- David Schoenfield

Why are you picking the Nationals?

Scherzer is pitching. And while he hasn't been shut-you-down Scherzer leading up to the postseason -- nor, it should be noted, in the postseason, either -- I'll leave it to someone else to bet against him. Maybe this is finally the Nationals' year. -- Jeff Passan

American League wild-card game: Rays at Twins, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Athletics: 18
Rays: 12

Why are you picking the Rays?

This should be a tight, low-scoring affair, but this is mostly about my confidence in Charlie Morton throwing six stellar innings for the Rays. He's been one of the best starters in the majors and he's obviously come up big before in the postseason (see Game 7 of the 2017 World Series). From there, Kevin Cash can deploy his multitude of relievers to match up with the A's. -- Schoenfield

Why are you picking the A's?

In a coin-flip game -- especially one in which the teams will be carrying manifold relievers to mix and match like this is a chemistry experiment -- the tie goes to the team that can score runs with one swing. And with more than 250 home runs this season, the A's are more capable than Tampa Bay of producing those runs in bunches. It's hard to bet against Morton and whatever else the Rays have up their sleeves, but the prospect of Oakland throwing Sean Manaea, Jesus Luzardo and Liam Hendriks makes it easier. -- Passan

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National League Division Series

NLDS No. 1: Nats/Brewers at Dodgers -- Dodgers: 26; Nationals: 4

Why are you picking the Dodgers?

This is not finally the Nationals' year. The Dodgers are too good and too deep to allow themselves to get worn down by Washington's superior starting pitching. They've got parent-of-a-2-year-old patience at the plate, and it's the sort of thing that can help even out whatever disadvantage they may face and allow the Dodgers to do all the other things they do better than the Nationals, like hit, run, field and pitch out of the bullpen. -- Passan

Why the Nationals over the Dodgers?

It's simple -- the Nationals are hot and have pitching while the Dodgers basically haven't played a meaningful game since last year's World Series. After advancing deep into the postseason the last two years, they are ripe for an early exit. It's nothing they can control. They have good players, but the Nationals -- who are ascending to the next level without Bryce Harper -- will continue with an early upset. -- Jesse Rogers

NLDS No. 2: Cardinals at Braves -- Braves: 20; Cardinals: 10

Why are you picking the Braves?

Atlanta is limping into the playoffs. The Cardinals are hobbling in. So this one comes down to talent, and while two potential Jack Flaherty starts would give the Cardinals a lifeline, the Braves may not allow this series to last until a fifth game.-- Passan

Why are you picking the Cardinals?

At the most basic level, there isn't much to separate the Cardinals and Braves. Their respective Pythagorean records (based on run differential) are essentially equal, with St. Louis owning a one-game advantage. That gap grows considerably if you zero in on the second half of the season. Beyond that, as much as I like Atlanta's young starters, the Cardinals have a better No. 1 in Jack Flaherty and a better rotation in general. In a best-of-five series, the Braves would face Flaherty twice. That's enough right there for me to give the nod to a St. Louis team that may be the superior group anyway. -- Bradford Doolittle

American League Division Series

ALDS No. 1: A's/Rays at Astros -- Astros: 29; A's: 1

Why are you picking the Astros?

This might not be easy. The A's and Rays both provide formidable matchups for the favorites. Oakland's all-around excellence and recent mastery of the Astros gives the A's a better-than-imagined chance, especially in a five-game series. Tampa Bay doesn't frighten on paper, but a Tyler Glasnow-Blake Snell-Charlie Morton trio is awfully compelling. All those words aside: The Astros are still better. -- Passan

ALDS No. 2: Twins at Yankees -- Yankees: 21; Twins: 9

Why are you picking the Yankees?

This has a chance to be the best division series. They're the two home run-hittingest teams of all time. Neither has an abundance of starting pitching. The Yankees' bullpen is superior, but the Twins' has improved significantly. Neither is what one would call great in the field. There could be a few football scores in this series, and ultimately, as good as the Twins are, the Yankees' offense is slightly more lethal. -- Passan

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National League Championship Series

Dodgers: 23
Braves: 3
Nationals: 3
Cardinals: 1

Why are you picking the Braves to get past the Dodgers and into the World Series?

The Braves are much more suited for the postseason matchup than a year ago, after a season of growth from their young roster. Dansby Swanson will have his moments.-- Buster Olney

Why are you picking the Dodgers?

A rematch from the division series last year, when the Dodgers summarily disposed of the Braves. Atlanta is one year older, one year better, one year closer. So are the Dodgers. And though the lineups are awfully similar, maybe even a tad in favor of the Braves, everything else the Dodgers do is better. And not by a small margin exactly, either. -- Passan

American League Championship Series

Astros: 27
Yankees: 2
Twins: 1

The Astros were clearly the choice in the AL -- why are you picking Houston to get to the World Series?

The matchup we've waited for all season. These two haven't faced each other since June 23, when Houston salvaged the final game of a four-game swing through New York to help take the season series 4-3. Now both are 100-game-plus winners and confident this is their year. This won't be a gimme for the Astros, but you go ahead and take the team without Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, George Springer, Michael Brantley, Yuli Gurriel and others. Be my guest. -- Passan

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World Series

Astros: 19
Dodgers: 6
Yankees: 1
Twins: 1
Nationals: 1
Cardinals: 1
Braves: 1

The Astros are clearly our overwhelming favorite -- why are you picking Houston to win its second title in three years?

It's about the names and their production and betting on talent, and even then this one (vs. Dodgers) is barely in favor of the Astros. The Dodgers, meanwhile, have vengeance on their minds from the 2017 World Series. Unfortunately, life isn't like "Kill Bill," and you can't use the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique on a baseball team. This is the Astros' year, and with two championships in three seasons, they're verging on dynasty status. -- Passan

I picked them in preseason and they haven't exactly given any reason to pick against them. It is a team without flaws and riding two of the hottest starting pitchers in the game in Justin Verlander (11-2, 2.06 ERA over his final 15 starts) and Gerrit Cole (he's won 16 consecutive decisions). They also enter October healthier than last year -- Jose Altuve in particular -- and also with more balance in the lineup thanks to lefties Yordan Alvarez and Michael Brantley. They win their second title in three years and establish themselves as one of the greatest teams of all time.-- Schoenfield

The Astros went into this season determined to do what they could not do in 2018 -- push through and win a second championship in the tenure of Jeff Luhnow and A.J. Hinch. And it's very possible they have a better, deeper team this year than in 2017. -- Olney

Look, no team is invulnerable in the postseason, but the Astros won 107 games with a run profile that legitimizes every last one of those wins. They will be heavy favorites in every game started by Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke. That makes the margin of error awfully small for opposing pitchers who have to navigate Houston's star-laden lineup. There is just no reason to pick against Houston this October, short-series randomness aside. -- Doolittle

Going with chalk in predictions is no fun, but there really is no logical reason to pick against the Astros. Their starting pitching is better than anyone else's starting pitching. Their lineup is deep and powerful. As our predictions show, Houston is the clearly the team to beat -- but the beautiful thing about baseball this time of year is that anything can happen. -- Dan Mullen

Why are you picking the Dodgers?

Maybe it's just my thinking it's their turn to finally win, after back-to-back World Series losses. Maybe it's just a hunch. But the Dodgers' numbers on both sides of the ball were competitive with any of the American League's most likely World Series participants, and they do have roster depth and balance that few teams would find easy to match. I don't think they'll face many bad matchups during the postseason, and that might be enough for them to emerge victorious this time. -- Tristan H. Cockcroft, ESPN Fantasy

You're the only one picking the Cardinals -- why are they your WS pick?

I am sure the first question is, why? Why would she be picking a team that limped to the NL Central title? I believed in the Cardinals after spring training, they were my World Series pick back in March, and I continue to believe in them heading into the postseason. I think that Paul Goldschmidt is primed to become a playoff superstar. The Cardinals' biggest weapon is Yadier Molina -- no team this postseason has a catcher with more playoff experience than Molina, and that will be key in guiding a talented pitching staff. -- Marly Rivera

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Free agency was only a few hours old when the New York Knicks acknowledged their fans' disappointment.

Three months later, the Knicks have changed their tune.

Not only was free agency a success, they say, but fans are going to forget about who the Knicks didn't get because they're going to love who they did.

"These are guys that our fans are going to like, the toughness that they bring every day when they come to the court to play for the Knicks," team President Steve Mills said Monday.

The Knicks signed seven new players in free agency, adding Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, Marcus Morris, Elfrid Payton, Wayne Ellington and Reggie Bullock. But by that time, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving had already committed to Brooklyn Nets in the early hours of free agency, and Mills released a statement that night saying he understood that fans could be disappointed but that the team remained confident in its plans.

And though the Knicks had enough money to afford two top free agents, Mills said the team they ended up assembling was exactly the type of roster the front office targeted all along.

"So we're excited about the group of guys that we have," Mills said. "Obviously based on the timeline and how we signed those guys it was clear they were on our radar and they were part of what we thought the future of the Knicks could be and what it should look like."

It's certainly good enough, combined with No. 3 draft pick RJ Barrett, to improve on what was an NBA-low 17 wins last season. The physicality in the frontcourt and the shooting just about everywhere should exceed anything the 2018-19 Knicks could offer.

"I can tell you this: First and foremost, it's not going to be like last year," said Morris, who said the Knicks have a lot of "dogs" on the roster who won't back down from competition.

The Knicks seem content to view themselves as a hard-working group of underdogs who together can overcome a lack of individual talent.

"The fact that none of them has been heralded as superstars, they understand that they're going to need each other to win games," coach David Fizdale said.

OWNER ON BOARD

Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan predicted the Knicks were going to have a successful summer during a radio interview last season, which seemed to hint that the Knicks believed they would get some of the top talent that was available. But Mills said Dolan was aware of what the Knicks were planning and satisfied with the results.

"Jim knew we were going to have a successful free agency period and we feel like we did that," Mills said. "He was on board with what we were doing."

GETTING THE POINT

The Knicks' most interesting roster situation in training camp could be at point guard, where Payton will compete with former lottery picks Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina. Smith came from Dallas last season in the trade for Kristaps Porzingis, and Ntilikina hopes to jump-start what's been a largely disappointing Knicks career after playing well for France when it beat the U.S. at the Basketball World Cup.

"I think it's going to be a great battle," Fizdale said. "I think they're all going to push each other. I think they're going to compete their butts off."

INJURY UPDATES

The Knicks said Bullock is making progress from a cervical disk herniation and will be re-evaluated in early November. They added that swingman Damyean Dotson likely won't play in the preseason because of a right shoulder injury but could be ready for the start of the season.

ROOKIE'S ROLE

Barrett was the Knicks' highest draft pick since taking Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing with the No. 1 selection in 1985, but he won't walk right into a starting spot. Fizdale said the swingman from Duke will be treated like Kevin Knox, last season's first-round pick who had to earn his minutes.

"It'll be the same but probably tougher on RJ because I think, again, this team is more talented," Fizdale said. "I think we have more guys that he has to fight with to get those minutes, but I think the kid is up for it."

EXPECTATION OF EFFORT

The Knicks won't make any predictions for this season, beyond that their effort will be there whether or not the wins are.

"We're a deep team so we're not going to do ourselves any justice by going out there and half going, not playing as hard as we can," Randle said.

DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks power forward Kristaps Porzingis said he feels "probably better than I ever have in my life" and will have no limitations entering training camp, almost 20 months after he tore the ACL in his left knee in the last NBA game that he played.

Porzingis, the 7-foot-3 All-Star the Mavs acquired in a blockbuster deal with the New York Knicks before last season's trade deadline, bulked up to a personal-high 242 pounds over the summer. Teammates raves about the explosiveness displayed by Porzingis in recent pickup games.

"I feel great physically. I feel 100 percent. I feel probably better than I ever have in my life," Porzingis told ESPN.

"It's been a long time since I've been out, but I've been putting in work throughout this rehab process. I'm extremely excited to be back on the court and to remind everybody what I'm capable of doing."

Porzingis has been medically cleared for full basketball activities for several months. He practiced with the Mavs late last season, but Porzingis and the team mutually agreed that it was in his best interests long term to continue prioritizing strength and conditioning work instead of playing in the final 10 or 15 games of the season.

Dallas will continue to take a long-term, cautious approach with Porzingis, who re-signed with the Mavs this summer on a five-year, $148 million maximum contract, although details of his load management program have yet to be finalized.

"If I had a gun to my head, I would say that there's a good chance that we will be very careful on back-to-backs, particularly to start the year," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "But I don't know for sure. I don't know how he's going to be feeling at that point. He may be insisting on playing, but I do believe in his case and in the case of any player like that, the Mavericks or whatever team is going to err on the side of caution."

The Mavs believe Porzingis and 20-year-old Luka Doncic, last season's Rookie of the Year, can eventually be the pillars of a contender. They have been frequently compared, by those inside and outside the organization, as a larger version of the Dirk Nowitzki-Steve Nash duo that played such a critical role in the franchise's revival in the 2000s.

"It could be a nightmare for the teams going forward," said Porzingis, who averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in his final season with the Knicks before suffering the knee injury in early February. "We just have to develop that chemistry on the floor."

The hope is that Porzingis and Doncic can lead the Mavs back to the playoffs this season, which would end a three-year drought.

"He's an amazing player, great talent, hard worker," Doncic said. "We have him, me and a lot of great players on this team, so that's why I want to make the playoffs and I hope we do."

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Joel Embiid's tears when he walked off the floor following Kawhi Leonard's Game 7 buzzer-beater last May weren't just because his Philadelphia 76ers had lost a heartbreaker. Rather, he felt like he had let his team down.

Embiid's stats and efficiency dipped in the playoffs as he dealt with knee pain as well as an illness in the series loss to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors.

On Monday, as he started a new season, Embiid said it haunted him and contributed to an offseason program that helped him drop 20 pounds.

"I just remember thinking I let my team down," Embiid told ESPN. "You can't control sickness or when it's going to happen. Obviously my knee was bothering me the whole second half of the season and the playoffs. But all I was thinking was what can I do make sure I don't let my teammates down again or my team. Or the whole city basically. That was to take better of my body. To work on the stuff I never really paid attention to, and it's been going well the whole summer."

Embiid averaged 27.5 points and 13.6 rebounds during the regular season for the 76ers but was slowed by knee tendinitis. He missed 12 games after the All-Star break, and in the series with the Raptors, he averaged just 17.6 points and 8.7 rebounds.

"I'm competitive. I think everybody knows about me. I like to compete. I want to win," Embiid said. "My production has got to go up in the playoffs instead of going down. That's why I feel like I let them down. We had a great chance of winning the whole thing. If that shot (by Leonard) hadn't gone down, you don't know what was going to happen."

Now healthier, lighter and armed with new teammate Al Horford, Embiid is setting huge goals for this season. His health is perhaps the biggest variable for Philly and a big reason the team added Horford to help take some stress off of him.

But Embiid only wants to do more. He wants to play more games than ever before, he wants to win major awards and he wants the 76ers to be the top seed in the East.

"Last year I played the most games I've ever played, 64. This year I see myself playing over 70 games," Embiid said. "That's going to be good for us because we're trying to get the No. 1 seed and we're trying to win over 60 games. It's going to help me because I need that team success if I want to win be able to win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year."

All that said, with his history of foot and knee issues, Embiid does plan to try to pace himself. He met with coach Brett Brown and general manager Elton Brand and discussed playing more games but fewer minutes as part of his load management this season.

"Last year I started off too high, playing 35-36 minutes a game and then I started slowing down," Embiid said. "This year, we're going to start off, not slow and not a minute restriction, but we'll start off at the right number, like 30-31 minutes to start, and then as the season goes on you start ramping up. It's hard to balance it. I'm competitive. I want to be out there with my guys. But you can win MVP playing 70 games."

MILWAUKEE -- It didn't take long for Giannis Antetokounmpo to address the elephant in the interview room at Fiserv Forum.

"I'm not gonna talk about it a lot this season, and I'm not going to try to address it," said Antetokounmpo, the NBA's reigning MVP.

Antetokounmpo, 24, is eligible to sign a five-year, $253.75 million super max extension in the summer of 2020 with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks, which would be the largest in NBA history.

This would apply even if Antetokounmpo fails to earn All-NBA honors this season, but his focus remains on team goals.

"I feel like if you have a great team, and our goal is to win a championship and be the last team standing and get better each day, I think it's disrespectful towards my teammates talking about my free agency and what I'm going through," Antetokounmpo said. "So, when the time is right, we're all gonna talk about it. I don't think the time is right."

Antetokounmpo would leave behind more than $90 million if he signs elsewhere with a team that has cap space in 2021, which could only offer $161.3 million for up to four years.

After falling to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals last season, Antetokounmpo has made it clear that his goal is to lead the Bucks to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1973-74.

He already made franchise history last season as the first Bucks player to hoist an MVP trophy since Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1974. Milwaukee also finished with a league-best 60 wins in the process.

Although training camp won't begin until Tuesday at the University of Wisconsin, head coach Mike Budenholzer has already noticed some differences in Antetokounmpo -- notably from his FIBA World Cup experience.

"I think he's working a lot on his leadership skills to be honest with you," Budenholzer said. "His ability to connect and communicate with his teammates, whether they've been with the team for a while or new guys that are coming in.

"I've been so impressed with how his leadership continues to grow and improve day-to-day, and you would think that doesn't happen in the summer but it does."

The NBA recently fined Bucks general manager Jon Horst $50,000 for violating league rules of discussing Antetokounmpo's supermax extension during a televised town hall event, so he stayed away from the topic Monday. During media day, however, he showed up in a great mood while touching on a range of topics, notably managing outside expectations, alongside Budenholzer, with the ultimate goal of a title in mind.

What others say in the next 10 months surrounding Antetokounmpo is out of his control.

"Internal expectations are what matter to us, and we've been saying this for over a year now," Horst said. "We believe it, we live it. We care about getting better everyday. We want to improve on what we did last year."

Scotland showed "a true picture" of themselves in the 34-0 defeat of Samoa in their second World Cup pool match, says Gregor Townsend.

The Scots recovered from a 27-3 opening loss to Ireland with a bonus-point victory against the Pacific Islanders in Kobe.

Townsend's side next play Russia in Pool A on 9 October before taking on hosts Japan four days later.

"They showed who they are," the head coach told BBC Scotland.

"Showed through their courage, their energy they brought and the pressure they put on a very good team. That's a true picture of ourselves. Last week wasn't, for whatever reason.

"It was hard work. These are big men we're up against, you have to hit them hard. Our pressure told. First half was an excellent performance. We stuck to our task and were delighted to get the maximum points."

Townsend was asked if his players should now be "energised" after moving to within a point of Ireland and four of pool leaders Japan.

"They should be," he replied. "There's no better feeling than coming back from adversity or rising to a challenge with your mates and delivering.

"They deserve the two or three days off that they're going to get now. It's just over a week until our next game but 10 days really focused for the Russia and the Japan games."

After Japan's shock victory against Ireland on Saturday, Scotland face a scenario in which they could go out of the tournament even with three wins from four pool matches.

Japan themselves are the only country in World Cup history to have won three pool matches and not progressed to the quarter-finals, as happened four years ago in England.

Scotland therefore need to beat Russia then Japan with a bonus point, and deny the hosts any points in their final pool clash to give themselves the best chance of progression.

"Japan and Ireland are still favourites to get out of the pool," Townsend said.

"We have to win our next two games and get at least one bonus, potentially two. We knew the rules coming in. The challenge is there. If it means having to score four tries and deny Japan a bonus point then it is an even bigger challenge."