Call for Wright hands on the tiller

KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer March 17 2005

Peter Wright should be groomed to lead Scotland's international rugby team to a new era, according to a veteran official who was Murrayfield's technical expert when Scotland won grand slams in 1984 and 1990.
John Roxburgh is now director of rugby at Glasgow Hawks, who Wright guided to a league and cup double last season, and he believes the club's coach is responsible for turning a group of talented individuals into winners.
Last season's success was the first time in history that the national league title had been won by a Glasgow club and, with Hawks on the brink of defending their title, he was recently put in charge of Scotland's under-19 squad.
Roxburgh believes the time is now right for him to be brought into the senior national team management immediately.
"Peter has things you can't put into people: that knack of doing and saying the right thing, and he is always positive," said the man who worked with every Scotland coach prior to Matt Williams as the SRU's technical administrator from 1974 to 1997.
Roxburgh, known as Rocky throughout Scottish rugby, was pugnacious in suggesting that, rather than worry about whether they can afford to sack the head coach, the SRU should be considering whether they can afford to keep him on.
"He's got no credibility left and, if there is a defensive coach in that set-up, he [that coach] has even less. We've got people we will have to blood at some stage, so why not now?" he asked.
Roxburgh was at Murrayfield on Saturday and was shocked to see empty spaces for a meeting with Wales, even though the visitors had brought double the usual number of fans with them, as well as witnessing Scotland supporters leaving before the interval, such was their disgust.
The implications in terms of revenue are obvious if nothing is done to change the mood. Wright was courageous in speaking out at the weekend and advocating bringing in Sean Lineen, the Glasgow backs coach, to replace Williams.
According to his own club's director of rugby, however, the best option would be to put Wright and Lineen, former Boroughmuir and Scotland team-mates, together.
"You see coaches who are gifted in dealing with people as well as having the technical knowledge and being able to adapt to situations," said Roxburgh. "Peter, like Sean, is an excellent man-manager who knows when to put an arm round players and when to have a go at them."
He agreed with the notion that Ian McGeechan, as the SRU's director of rugby, should be told to take a hands-on role with the national side.
"There are plenty of people to get on with development matters at the SRU," said the man who used to be one of a handful of administrators running the day-to-day business of Scottish rugby.
"They could afford the time to release Ian to work with the national team and, having been so heavily involved in international rugby, he could help young coaches in a mentoring role.
"The first thing you need as a coach is the respect of the dressing-room and Peter has been there and done it with Scotland and the Lions."

This article was posted on 17-Mar-2005, 08:36 by Hugh Barrow.