Vern Cotter, a great acquisition by Fijian rugby
Vern Cotter, turned 58 on Monday – the eve of his appointment as the new head coach of the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians. While it may be a great birthday present, it comes with a lot of responsibilities and expectations.
The Fiji Rugby Union could not have chosen a better person from the list of candidates it processed. He is an excellent acquisition, a coup if you want, by one of the minnows of the 15s code. He could have been easily snapped by any rugby nation because of his impressive credentials as a player and coach.
Cotter played for Counties Manukau in the New Zealand provincial championships for 10 years as No 8 before going overseas to play for a number of French clubs.
He returned to New Zealand and coached Bay of Plenty from 1999 to 2004, lifting the standards.
His outstanding work was noticed by the Crusaders franchise in the then Super 12 competition. Cotter was drafted in as the Crusaders’ forward coach in the 2004 season. The Crusaders finished runners-up to the ACT Brumbies.
The following two years, the Crusaders won the title. Cotter then went to France and became head coach of ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2006. He won his first title in 2009-2010.
He also had similar exploits in the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. Then he became head coach of Scotland between 2014 and 2017 during which he notched up number successes.
Mark Dodson, then chief executive of the Scotland Rugby Union, said in 2016: “Vern Cotter has made a considerable impact on the development of the Scotland national side during his tenure. His rugby philosophy of setting high standards with a big emphasis on skill development has had a positive effect throughout.”
This kind of raving reviews of his performance follows Cotter wherever he plies his rugby business. Rugby is his business and he must have impressed the FRU selection panel when it interviewed him.
He was once linked to another New Zealand coach Joe Schmidt (Ireland’s head coach 2013-2019) who was touted for the All Blacks coach. He would have been his assistant.
After his stint with Scotland, Cotter joined Top 14 French side Montpellier and became rugby director. Last Tuesday the club announced that former France coach Philippe Saint-Andre was taking over from him. Cotter has until June to complete his contract but he can get an early release.
The change is a blessing in disguise for Fijian rugby. He is moving back to familiar territory. He knows and understands Fijian rugby very well and no doubt he can’t wait to get started. His experience of Northern Hemisphere rugby is an added advantage technically and administratively. Because of his French connection he can easily negotiate release of Fijian players from clubs there for international duties.
Obviously, he has studied Fiji’s performance at the World Cup in Japan and has a plan to rebuild, integrating the natural Fijian flair and instincts with modern professional techniques.
Cotter is the right choice, the sort of coach that the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians need to lift their performance to a higher level that is compatible with the standards of tier-one rugby nations.
It is understood that he was earning at least $1.2 million euros (F$2.86m) a year in France. It is not clear how much he will get here. Whatever he receives, he will be worth the investment.