SRU seek safe pair of hands on tiller

KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer April 27 2005

Murrayfield officials will look for a safe pair of hands to steer Scotland's national side through this season's remaining fixtures but will leave longer-term planning to the game's new governors.
The Scottish Rugby Union board will meet today to discuss the consequences of having sacked Matt Williams, the national coach, and his assistants, Willie Anderson and Brett Igoe.
Fred McLeod, the SRU's interim chairman and chief executive, yesterday made it clear that the caretakers will be selected from the senior figures currently involved in the pro team game.
Asked about the prospects for John Jeffrey and Iain Paxton, manager and head coach respectively of the under-21 team, he said they could not be considered because they are preparing their side for their forthcoming world championship.
A strong case has also been made for Peter Wright, the under-19 side's full-time coach, but McLeod indicated that he would not be pushed into the role. Like Paxton, he has been a full-time coach for only a matter of months. "I would suggest that it is more likely in this instance that we would turn to more experienced coaches," he said.
McLeod also accepted that there is a groundswell of opinion in favour of having a home-based coach, but said that did not extend to having to select a Scot.
"The feeling all round is that we need a Scottish input," he said. "That will be a major contributory factor to any coaching team."
Pressed on the question of nationality, he suggested that it was more important that contenders understand the Scottish system.
"I would not, for example, negate Steve Bates," he said of the Borders head coach who once played scrum-half for England and who has impressed enormously with the way he has handled his desperately under-resourced side.
In a rather odd way, the fact that Borders have failed to reach this season's Celtic Cup quarter-finals also works in the former Newcastle coach's favour since, with the board apparently keen to make a caretaker appointment quickly, he is more readily available than Frank Hadden, the Edinburgh coach and Hugh Campbell his Glasgow counterpart.
Their sides are both hopeful of extending their seasons still further this weekend as Glasgow visit Leinster on Friday and Edinburgh head for Munster on Saturday on Celtic Cup business.
The other senior figure who would be immediately available is Richie Dixon, the former Glasgow and Scotland coach, who is still on the Murrayfield staff and remains keen on hands-on coaching.
What could work against him is that, as head of the coaching development department, he may also be the ideal individual to assess the performance of the various contenders for the post.
Clearly, having had involvement in the national set-up in the past, both Campbell and Hadden must be considered for the post and the case for the latter was made strongly by one of his players yesterday.
After being named The Famous Grouse Scotland Player of the Year yesterday, Chris Paterson, the former Scotland captain, suggested the Edinburgh coach had to be considered.
"I've worked with Frank for six or seven years now and the way Edinburgh play is hugely exciting and I just love taking the field under that gameplan as does everyone at Edinburgh" he said.
"If Frank would like to do the job I think he'd certainly be in the frame."
Paterson added that it would help regenerate the feel-good factor within the rugby community if a home coach did get the job, albeit, it he stressed, being Scottish should not be a prerequisite.
"I've said before it has to be the right guy for the job," he said. "I don't see that we realistically have to narrow our options by ruling out a foreign coach. It hasn't worked for Matt here which doesn't mean it won't work out for another foreigner.
"I think we have to look broadly and wisely for the best man to come in. It's not for players to say these things but I'm sure the board will appoint the right man for the job, be it a foreigner, be it a Scot.
"As a proud nation you ideally would like to see a Scot but if there's not one prepared to do the job I don't see the harm in looking elsewhere."
Ironically the strongest argument against Hadden could well be the way he has blocked, as Edinburgh coach, any real chance of Paterson, widely rated the country's most gifted back, maximising his influence by developing as a top-class stand-off.

This article was posted on 27-Apr-2005, 08:21 by Hugh Barrow.