Scotland set to appoint interim coach
Scottish Rugby Chief Executive Mark Dodson says they will in all probability appoint an interim coach to take the reins for next year’s Six Nations before settling on a permanent appointment.
Dodson said the road to the 2015 World Cup begins with finding the ideal head coach following the decision by Andy Robinson to step down from the role after the historic defeat to Tonga in Aberdeen on November 24.
Dodson, who attended the World Cup draw in London on Monday, where Scotland were grouped with South Africa, Samoa and two unconfirmed qualifiers from Asia and the Americas in Pool B, said they would consider local and foreign candidates for the position.
Dodson said that due to the short time frame before the start of the 2013 Six Nations on February 2, a caretaker coach is likely to be named.
“It’s an exciting draw for us and we know the impact big tournaments can have on invigorating sport throughout the UK. This is the fourth largest sporting event in the world and we should be excited about the possibilities arising from it," Dodson said of Scotland’s 2015 World Cup draw.
“Clearly there is a lot of work needing to be done before 2015 and the first task for me is to bring in the right head coach, someone who can get the best out of this group of players and make the country proud of their national team.
“It’s just ten days since Andy decided to step down but we have already received a number of applications for the job. We are reviewing these as well as looking at home and abroad for the best candidate to take Scotland forward to the Rugby World Cup.
“We have the Six Nations just round the corner and, given the timescales involved, we are looking at the possibility of an interim appointment as we don’t want to rush into making the decision.”
Scotland team manager, Gavin Scott, who was also at the draw in London, said: “We haven’t made things easy for ourselves in terms of our world rankings [12th] but I don’t think the teams we’ve been drawn against will like having us in their group either.
“The Scotland side they’ll face in two years time could be a very different animal to the one we’ve seen recently.
“All World Cups are a big logistical exercise but with the tournament being held in England this time round, we’re looking forward to the challenge in 2015 and what it could do to inspire the next generation of talent.”
Scotland have faced Samoa a total of eight times including two previous clashes in the World Cup at Murrayfield, in 1991 and 1999. The Scots have won seven of the matches, with the other a draw in Edinburgh in 1995.
The Scots first faced the Springboks in 1906 and have met a further 21 times with Scotland winning five and losing 16 of those encounters, most recently in the November 17 Test, with South Africa coming out on top 21-10 at Murrayfield.
