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. Later that year, he was selected for his first ever Rugby World Cup , where he played in every Scotland game. However, Scotland failed to progress past the quarter-finals after losing to New Zealand 30–18. He was again selected for Scotland's World Cup squad in 2003, 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.