Rugby College: Vern Cotter backed to be Scotland success after molding rugby "Galacticos"

Monday, 3 June 2013

Vern Cotter backed to be Scotland success after molding rugby "Galacticos"

Scotland centre Matt Scott believes incoming coach Vern Cotter has proved he can work with rugby’s version of the ‘Galacticos’.

But Scott believes Cotter faces a different task continuing the Dark Blues’ international revival.**

The Clermont Auvergne boss will take over as Andy Robinson’s permanent replacement next summer after his French employers announced today they would be holding him to the final 12 months of his contract.

But Scott has been impressed by the way the New Zealander has shaped a collection of talented individuals such as Wesley Fofana, Aurelien Rougerie, Morgan Parra and Scotland’s own Nathan Hines and transformed them into a tight-knit unit which took Clermont to within a point of the Heineken Cup following a 16-15 defeat to Toulon in last month’s final.

But Scott admits ensuring the Scots do not go backwards after their third-place finish in this year’s Six Nations will require a completely different approach.

The Edinburgh back – currently in South Africa with the rest of the Scotland squad ahead of a four-team tournament involving the hosts, Italy and Samoa – said: “Vern has definitely got a top pedigree.

“Folk think it is easy coaching a team of superstars. He’s got a lot of game-breakers in that Clermont side but it is a tough job bringing a group of individuals like that together.

“It’s a bit like Real Madrid in football with all the Galacticos. It’s not easy getting big names to gel.

“But under Vern they came close to winning trophies this year so obviously he is a good coach.

“Coaching Scotland will be a different job for him. It’s not like a club side where you have a blank cheque to sign players. He will have to work with what he has got at Scotland but I don’t think he would have taken the job if he didn’t think we were going places.

“We have a lot of young players coming through and I think on this tour we will see the true depth of the squad.

â€œWe have a lot of players doing well for their clubs, especially through at Glasgow, who will get their chance over the next couple of weeks and I think we will see some fierce competition for places in future.”