Townsend believes that similar cameo appearances will not do the 24-year-old any favours in rediscovering his form and has arranged for Jackson to get substantially more game time by playing for his draft club Ayr in the Scottish Premiership this weekend.
The former British and Irish Lion is adamant that the race for the Warriors starting 10 jersey this season is three pronged between Jackson, Weir and 26-year-old Scott Wight.
But he gave Jackson the assurance that he would be back in his thinking for the match against Zebre at the end of the month.
"He (Jackson) is looking forward to it because he would rather play for longer and this week the opportunity for him is to play at club level, and he was very positive about it," Townsend told the Scotsman.
"In a number of positions, especially ten, you need game-time to make decisions and get a good run, and I'm hoping that Ruaridh gets involved this weekend for Ayr and that will put him in a good position for our game against Zebre.
"But Scott Wight has been pushing hard for an opportunity and we've made it clear from the start of pre-season that it's very much a three-way battle between him, Duncan and Ruaridh for the number ten jersey."
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