Dave Butcher says he is “hugely excited” to have been appointed forwards coach for Scotland women ahead of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations which begins in April.
Butcher has established a strong reputation as a specialist set piece coach and brings extensive experience to the party having coached across men’s and women’s international, professional and performance pathway environments for more than 20 years.
Most recently he served as assistant coach with Canada who reached the Women’s Rugby World Cup final last year.
This appointment marks a return to Scottish Rugby for Butcher who previously worked across a performance and national age-grade programmes within the men’s pathway, including coaching Scotland U16s, U17s, the Scottish Development XV and working with the Scottish Qualified Programme as well as leading talent identification programmes internationally.
Butcher said: “I’m hugely excited to join Scotland women and return to Scottish Rugby.
“This is a programme with clear ambition and enormous potential and I cannot wait to contribute to it.
“I’m really looking forward to working with head coach Sione Fukofuka, senior assistant coach Ioan Cunningham, the wider management team and, of course, the players starting with the upcoming Six Nations.”
Head coach Sione Fukofuka added: “I am delighted to welcome Dave to the programme as our forwards coach.
“The experience that he brings from coaching at the highest level will really allow us to harness the power of an already incredibly strong forward pack. Dave’s knowledge and detail will be a major asset for our programme as we continue to raise standards and accelerate the programme.”
Dave Butcher is pictured – thanks to Rugby Canada