Nathan Hines, the former Scotland lock, has said that Vern Cotter, his coach at Clermont Auvergne, is the right man for the job of looking after the Scottish national side.
Cotter has now admitted that discussions have taken place between himself and the SRU, but the New Zealander said that he did not want to go into any details until the French club season is over.
While stressing that he was not privy to the details of Cotter's likely move to Murrayfield, Hines, who won 77 Scotland caps before announcing his retirement after the last World Cup, was happy to sing the praises of the man who has been in charge of Clermont for the past seven seasons.
"He is uncompromising and he has a great work ethic," said Hines, "He puts pressure on you. Even if you're comfortable and going well, he always tries to make you ask questions of yourself in order to find a little extra.
"Like he does with us, I think he will bring something of that hard edge and that work ethic. The Scotland boys have that already, but he'll add to it. He is a motivator and a technician. He's always provoking you, always posing questions, always thinking, always searching for something that will give you an advantage."
Clermont went down 16-15 to Toulon in the final of the Heineken Cup in Dublin on Saturday evening, but they are still in the frame for the French domestic championship, which reaches its conclusion in less than two weeks' time.
Speaking after Saturday's match at the Aviva Stadium, in which Toulon came from behind to claim victory with a Delon Armitage try and a conversion and three penalties by Jonny Wilkinson, Cotter agreed that there had been "contact" between himself and the SRU, but was not prepared to expand on that. "This is not the time," he said.
Clermont will take on Castres in the semi-final of the French Top 14 championship in Nantes on Saturday. If they come through that, they will be in the final the following weekend. The timing of any announcement regarding the Scotland job will depend on his club's results in those games.
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