VERN COTTER WILL be Scotland’s next head coach and promised — “we will build a winning team.”
In a major coaching coup Cotter will take charge from June 2014, replacing interim coach Scott Johnson on an initial two-year deal.
The highly-regarded New Zealander still has a season to run on his contract with Top 14 giants Clermont Auvergne but will set aside time to work with Johnson and his staff during the upcoming Autumn Tests and the 2014 Six Nations.
Cotter’s deal will see him lead the Scots into the 2015 World Cup where they face South Africa and Samoa in the pool stages.
The move to appoint Cotter was concluded “some months ago,” Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson revealed, but the announcement was delayed until after the Top 14 semi-finals and the Heineken Cup final, both of which ended in defeat for Clermont.
“Vern is rightly regarded as one of the top coaches in the world and to have secured someone of his calibre is a coup for Scotland,” Dodson said.
He was our first choice as head coach and we are pleased to have secured him on a two year contract taking us up to and beyond the Rugby World Cup 2015. We compiled a short list of world class candidates last December and Vern was top of that list.We did our business with Vern some months ago and we believe we have the best man for the role with our national team. It’s a measure of our standing that we have him on board.
Cotter said: “I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been appointed to the role of Scotland head coach.
“Mark Dodson and the team at Scottish Rugby have a strategic vision and a determination to do something very special in the coming time and working with them and a talented group of players and coaches I look forward to the Scotland team growing in competitiveness and stature.
“We will build a winning team together.”
