One of the candidates in this month's election for the Scottish Rugby Union's vice presidency has expressed disappointment and surprise at how the appointment of the national team's new head coach, Vern Cotter, has been handled.
Ian Rankin, who recently stepped down as Dundee HSFP head coach, is standing against current SRU administrators Archie Ferguson and Jock Millican at the organisation's annual general meeting. His career to date has also involved coaching roles at both Caledonia Reds and Edinburgh in the professional game, as well as a spell as manager of the latter.
Rankin has been asked to do so stand for vice-president by those in the club game who believe that Murrayfield has lost touch with the wider club game, something which his observations on the recruitment of Cotter would seem to reflect.
"I think he's a good coach but it's been a messy appointment," said Rankin. "I don't know enough about it to know why, but the timescale . . . I'm surprised they're saying we won't see him until next year and I'm disappointed by that. It could make for a year of transition where the players are all going to be very aware that the head coach who is potentially taking them to the World Cup is in the background and will be wondering what's got to happen.
"We've got interim coaches at Edinburgh so we're in another state of flux with a summer tour coming up. It's difficult because there's nobody considered good enough in Scotland so we have to go further afield."
Rankin believes there are Scottish candidates who are more than good enough to run professional teams and hoped that one would be appointed head coach at Edinburgh. He has his doubts, though. "I'm hearing stories that Scots working down south have been approached and turned it down," he added.
It was announced on Thursday that Carl Hogg, the former Edinburgh back-row forward, is taking over as head coach at Worcester Warriors, working under Dean Ryan, who had a spell as Scotland forwards coach earlier this year.
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