Do not talk of a legacy but hopefully of a job that was well done, says Cotter

FOR a ‘dead man walking’, Vern Cotter still cut an imposing figure last week and there is no suggestion that he will lighten his determination to make Scotland Six Nations contenders in his last hurrah. Cotter was as diplomatic as was possible when facing the media for the first time since the SRU announced that he would be replaced by Gregor Townsend at the end of the current season. He refused to state whose decision it was, but the sadness and disappointment etched across his features lent a heaviness to the words: ‘It is the right decision for Scottish rugby.’

When asked about what legacy he wished to leave, Cotter stayed true to his humble approach.

‘I struggle with that,’ he said. ‘I look at the bigger picture. I don’t like: “This is me, this is my legacy”. The whole game has been played in this country for more than 100 years and there are a lot of great people that have gone before, and I just want to focus on what can be done and not get caught up in that.

‘I want to stick to the real things and the real things for me are playing Australia in the next few weeks, making sure our scrum and lineout is good, our defence and attack is coherent. That’s what I’m focused on. I think humility is important and I’d like to think we have a humble team on the paddock coached by humble people as well.’

That has been a key part of the culture shift under his charge and at its heart is that ‘don’t get ahead of yourself’ attitude pushing the current crop of players on to a more consistent path and off the rollercoaster of great highs followed by bumpy lows that have characterised much of Scotland in the professional era.

Yet, while reluctant to discuss what he will leave behind, he was clear about what matters to him and what has brought a smile to his rugged Kiwi chops since he took over in the summer of 2014 — after a year’s delay due to a Clermont versus SRU tug o’ war the union lost — and, to date, created a yield of 11 wins in 24 Test matches.

‘If I remember correctly, then [in 2014] Hoggy [Stuart Hogg] was off to Ulster, Finn Russell hadn’t played an international game and so I think there are a whole load of things that have come together,’ he recalled.

‘Jonny Gray has played his first international and some older players have got stronger.

‘We looked at what was characteristically strong in Scottish rugby beforehand and have tried to embrace it and modernise it. What’s the difference in the team? If you look at the names on the sheet now and compare the two, some players have finished their careers and others have started.

‘But I think there’s been growth in the culture and standards set within the team, identity in the way we play, and we’re looking for those things to be maintained and define what was defined previously.’

He spoke of focusing on scrums, lineout, defence, improving the attack, but when asked about his best Six Nations result, the win over France at a raucous Murrayfield earlier this year, he smiled broadly.

‘Wasn’t that great? We’re looking to do that again, to play well in front of our home crowd, enjoy it and really put that extra bit of heart and soul into it,’ he said. ‘This team does have that heart and we want them to push through with that. It’s not just words, but training hard, testing ourselves, making sure the clarity’s there.

‘The leadership group is aware of that and will move into that because we don’t want to make the same mistakes we made previously.’

Ultimately, what Cotter wants from his last eight Tests in charge of Scotland is consistency, which to

him means no return to the world rankings rollercoaster from sixth to 12th and back to ninth as Andy Robinson experienced.

Scotland currently sit in eighth, behind the southern hemisphere trio and England, France, Ireland and Wales — just where they were when Cotter took over.

He won’t say it but he believes this squad — even without WP Nel — are capable of victory in all three autumn Tests, noting Wallabies and Pumas sides well beaten in the Rugby Championship and inevitably tired, and in his mind’s eye he can see his team challenging for the RBS Six Nations crown by beating Ireland, Wales and Italy at home and picking off one of France and England away.

That is why there are no surprises in the autumn squad and space for a host of players who have spent the past month or more injured. The anchor that is Nel is a notable loss, perhaps more so against Argentina and Georgia than Australia, but Cotter is eager to see Glasgow’s Zander Fagerson surprise.

Injuries inevitably hamper a Scotland coach, the strength in depth being so thin in key areas — not least

I look at the bigger picture. We want to maintain standards

tighthead and stand-off, where Stuart Hogg now covers — but what Cotter has also brought is a New Zealand ruthlessness to standards, on and off the field. That leaves him confident that the players will lose nothing in motivation purely from the unusual announcement of his departure before the Test season kicks off.

‘I think the culture within the side, the respect they have for the jersey and the role of representing Scotland is such that I don’t think they’ll feel that,’ he said.

‘We set high standards, the players set high standards and they’ll be maintained all the way through. I don’t believe there will be a problem because there’s so much at stake.

‘The elephant is obviously in the room, so we’ll talk about it.

‘It will be one of the first conversations we’ll have when we come in, but this is an opportunity for the players to be selected and re-selected for the Six Nations, to perform well.

‘This group finishes at the end of the Six Nations, against Italy, next year, so we will maintain our standards, develop our game, try to improve because that’s our driving force, and then analyse it at the end. And, hopefully, hand the keys over saying: “That was a job well done”.’

But don’t imagine Cotter will take a step back from the emotions, either.

‘There’s always a desire to plan and perform well and so I’ll be putting a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that all the boxes are ticked, and I know the coaching staff around me will be doing the same thing,’ he said. ‘The game’s the game and there are no guarantees. I’m just going to really enjoy the time that’s left.’

If we see that rare smile in the coming months, it will be good news for Scotland supporters as his high targets will have been met. Then, we may be asking whether the SRU acted too soon.