Interim Scotland head coach Dave Butcher has revealed how a number of meetings held in Peebles in August allowed him and his new assistant coaches to get on the same page quickly.
It is fair to say it has been a busy spell for Butcher leading into Saturday’s WXV Global Series opener versus Canada at Hive Stadium (4.10pm, live on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer).
Having accepted the step up from assistant coach to interim head coach in early August, he has since had five weeks working with the wider squad after putting together a coaching group.
Chris Laidlaw, who previously served as head coach of Glasgow Warriors women and as assistant coach with the women’s national team during the 2023 Women’s Six Nations, joined from Harlequins as defence coach, Tom Luke joined from English club Bristol Bears on secondment as attack coach and Robbie Fergusson, the former Scotland GB Sevens men’s player who is now Glasgow Warriors women’s coach, joined as skills and contact coach.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from the coaches so far,” Butcher said about his hastily assembled quartet that is also joined from time to time by specialist coaches like Louise Dalgliesh and Chris Paterson.
“We met in Peebles for a day and a half just before the start of the pre-season block and that was the first time we’d met with everyone together.
“And since then, it’s been exceptional how well they’ve gelled together.
“They have really stepped into what we want to do.
“And it was never about, ‘well, I’ve done this before’. It was about, ‘OK, how are we going to work together for a Scotland team?’
“I think because we’ve had that philosophy since we’ve come in and we’ve built the plane in the sky a little bit we’ve accomplished big things as a coaching group already in terms of our alignment, understanding and how we coach.
“From where we started five or so weeks ago to where we’ve come now, I think it’s a testament to the coaches we’ve brought in and the players just in terms of how much distance we’ve covered.
“We still know that we’re at the base of what we can do and there’s a lot more juice we can squeeze out of what we’re doing.
“But I think in terms of being content on where we are just now, I would say I’m very content where we are just now.
“I think the most pleasing bit for me is how everyone’s stepped in two feet into a new environment, a new sort of cultural model.
“We’ve tried to kind of capture what’s already there in terms of the strong culture and then really kind of tried to understand ‘what does that look like to people and how do we capture that and keep that for an extended period of time?’
“That has been very much led by captain Rachel Malcolm and the senior leaders plus our mental performance coach.
“And seeing that unfold and how that’s affected how we operate on the field and the standards that we keep ourselves to, well that’s been the most pleasing thing for me.”
As mentioned, the home Vodafone Scotland WXV Series campaign – part of the wider WXV Global Series presented by Mitsubishi Electric featuring the top sides in the world – begins for Scotland against Canada on Saturday at the Hive before welcoming New Zealand to these shores the following weekend on September 19 and then hosting Australia on September 26.
Scotland’s away WXV Global Series fixtures will take place against Australia on October 17 and October 23.
Dave Butcher is pictured – thanks to Scottish Rugby
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