Taylor will use lessons from his past to inform Scotland's future

Friday 27 July 2012

Matt Taylor, Scotland's new defence coach, arrived in the country yesterday armed with a message for the Scottish Rugby Union: "We can compete with any nation in world rugby".

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Ahmer Khokhar

The former Edinburgh flanker, who left the Queensland Reds this week, will take up the post made vacant after Graham Steadman's contract was not renewed by the SRU.

Taylor, who joined Edinburgh from Aberdeen GSFP in the 1990s, is determined to implement the coaching philosophies of former Scotland and Edinburgh coach Graham 'Greco' Hogg; the man he hails as the biggest influence on his playing career in Scotland.

"Good coaching is all about empowering players and giving them the self-belief to improve themselves which is what Greco was very good at," Taylor told Herald Sport. "Graham had the knack of not only being able to motivate players but also lifted the intensity of the group. He made a big impression on me and I'm going to take a lot of what he taught me to my role as Scotland's defence coach. I remember Graham demanding we [Scotland] believe in ourselves and his attitude rubbed off on all of the players when we beat Argentina in 2001 and a really good Fiji side afterwards. "There's a lot for Scottish rugby to be positive about at the moment and a really good buzz amongst the players after winning all three of their summer tour games last month. There are some outstanding young players in the squad so there's no reason why Scotland can't make the semi-finals of future world cups. We need to continue building a winning culture and with Andy Robinson as head coach we've got every chance of doing that and competing with any nation." Taylor's bold claims are also inspired by other Scottish rugby mentors who helped define his playing and coaching career both in Scotland and Australia. By his own admission, he was and still remains closer to former team-mates than coaches, but the influence of previous Edinburgh coaches John Fleming and Frank Hadden has never left his psyche. One-time Borders coach Tony Gilbert is another mentor who influenced Taylor's rugby mentality. "Tony Gilbert played for the All Blacks so he knew how to win and was a very calm and intelligent coach in my playing days," he said. "John Fleming, another former All Black, was a very determined coach. Frank Hadden was another winner as coach. They were all outstanding coaches in their own rights and I'm very fortunate to have learned different aspects from each of them." These days Taylor stays in regular contact with Scotland and British Lions legend Gregor Townsend. The pair were team-mates at Borders in the early 2000s when they struck up a close friendship. He also admits to being impressed by the talent in the Scotland squad. "Stuart Hogg's got the ability to become a world-class full-back," Taylor said. "Ross Rennie has a unique skill set as a No.7 and Tim Visser is blessed with real try-scoring ability."

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Taylor will use lessons from his past to inform Scotland's future

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