SO WHY ARE WE LETTING HIM GO?
Cotter smashed a glass door in fury and he has now shattered the glass ceiling of our rugby ambitions...
A SMASHED reinforced glass door leading to the Scotland coaches’ booth at Murrayfield had Vern Cotter’s fingerprints all over it.
It’s two years since the humiliating last-gasp defeat by Italy had the Kiwi taking out his frustrations during a pivotal result on the road to a Six Nations whitewash that included a hammering from Ireland.
Even if the SRU refused to confirm or deny the head coach was the culprit.
A rare moment of emotion from a man who is known by his players as Stern. The eyes of ice were never going to give the game away.
That was then and this is now. The journey is almost over for the New Zealander who has since taken Scotland to within a point of the World Cup semi-finals and from Six Nations no-hopers to genuine contenders.
Two games to go, a Triple Crown decider at Twickenham and a possible championship triumph at home to Italy and he’ll be gone.
Cotter is being shunted back to France with Montpellier due to a fear incumbent Glasgow Warriors boss Gregor Townsend was about to leave these shores.
Cotter, 55, has taken a side of bratty kids and ironed out the indiscipline, he’s built a squad that is terrorising the rugby world – and his strategy is a simple one.
After inheriting the shambles previous head coach Scott Johnson had overseen, the old dictatorship that meant not being allowed to question decisions has been banished.
A culture of freedom of expression within his squad has been harnessed and players are now being encouraged to think for themselves.
Cotter’s framework is all about internal leadership roles and it has matured a group that had potential into the realisation of something now delivering with every challenge.
An environment of selfexpression can be seen everywhere, from Finn Russell’s maverick decisionmaking to Stuart Hogg’s attacking genius and in the gamechanging moments built on a gutsy pack who have taken the responsibility of human battering rams.
It’s also about the timing, the coming of age of players such as Jonny Gray, Hamish Watson and Huw Jones has helped bring this squad to the boil.
Another peculiar part to this Six Nations story has been the reaction from the players to the news their leader is leaving.
Usually when word comes through to a dressing room that their gaffer is persona non grata it’s a signal to drop down the gears and it speaks volumes for Vern the opposite has been true.
To steal one of his favourite phrases, small changes adding up to big gains.
This is a man who freely admits he wanted to take the poisoned chalice of the Scotland job as he was sick of hearing our nation being labelled the booby prize in any Six Nations sweepstake.
During Cotter’s time in France his Clermont Auvergne team did not lose at home for 76 matches, won the French Championship for the first time in their history and never finished outside the top four.
His credentials as a world class boss will be enhanced if we beat England at Twickenham for the first time in 34 years and lift the Triple Crown title again after 27 years.
There’s a monotony about every Cotter press conference, he routinely talks of “mindset and skill-set and leadership”, his philosophy is about “producing good rugby players but also producing good men”. It’s a transition that has triggered a reversal of fortune from a side routinely on the losing side of tight games to one that wins them.
If we beat Italy later this month we’ll have racked up three home wins in the Six Nations for the first time ever.
All the talk around the squad is about there being a better atmosphere, no more rigid and divisive game-plans. Gone is the fear and the worry of being pilloried post-match for mistakes and misdemeanours.
The most successful Scottish coach of the Six Nations era has moulded a side with an ability to cope with adversity and manage games to a successful conclusion.
Look no further than the soldout signs at Murrayfield to see this is a Scotland side worth watching for more than just a day out in Edinburgh on the swally.
The question was dressed up but in October Cotter was asked his feelings over being ousted.
He said: “As a competitor, you’re always disappointed if you’re doing something and you want to go somewhere and you’ve got objectives in mind, naturally. But that’s the deal and that’s done. I respect it and just move on.”
Cotter’s legacy will be opening a window to Scottish rugby’s potential. And the glass ceilings he has smashed.