Scotland Head Coach Vern Cotter has appointed the other Richie Gray as a Defensive Contact Specialist – the one from Gala who knows a thing or two about guddling on the floor for the ball, as opposed to the tall mop-haired one we’re used to.
Gray joins the Scotland set-up following a three-season spell as South Africa’s Specialist Breakdown Coach – culminating in their bronze medal finish at Rugby World Cup 2015 and a game where they pummelled Scotland with their physicality – as well as working with the ‘Blitzbokke’ 7s side. There is no word whether it is a permanent move home; at this point it is “on a consultancy basis for the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations Championship”.
The former Scotland age-grade internationalist was a Scottish Rugby employee from 1994 and 2006, when he worked as a Development Manager, Academy Manager and coach to various Scotland age-grade sides, the South of Scotland, Gala and Biggar RFC.
The award-winning inventor of the ‘Collision King’ technical training range for Rhino which many teams use for training for contact, said: “It’s a great honour to coach any country but to be offered the opportunity to coach your own is something special indeed.
“The defensive breakdown is an area highlighted by the coaches as an area for improvement, for which I’ve been given a very specific brief to work alongside Defence Coach Matt Taylor for the seven-week period of the RBS 6 Nations.
“It’s a great honour and I’m looking forward to joining up with the squad in camp in St Andrews this Sunday.”
Scotland Head Coach, Vern Cotter, said: “On behalf of the national team I’d like to welcome Richie [Gray] to our coaching set-up for the 2016 RBS 6 Nations.
“We’re looking forward to adding his experience and passion to the group.”
It’s a move that is sure to delight many Scotland fans who have called for his inclusion in the past, as one of the few Scottish coaches operating at a top international level, and it adds a little tartan flavour to Cotter’s invigorated coaching team.