Jim Telfer: Vern Cotter should stay until next World Cup

Jim Telfer believes outgoing Scotland coach Vern Cotter is leaving too soon and has heaped praise on the New Zealander for restoring Scottish rugby's credibility.

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter will be replaced in the summer. Picture: Gary Hutchison/SNS/SRU

Cotter’s reign will end after the Six Nations, with Glasgow Warriors coach Gregor Townsend replacing him in the summer.

With wins this season over Ireland and Wales, Scotland head to Twickenham on Saturday seeking to win the Triple Crown for the first time in 27 years, with a home match against Italy to follow seven days later.

This campaign is Cotter’s Murrayfield swansong and he will move to France to take charge of club side Montpellier next season. He has made it clear it was not his choice to end his Scotland reign and Telfer thinks he has unfinished business with the national side and should remain in charge until the next Rugby World Cup, in Japan in 2019.

“Vern’s leaving at the end of the season and the players want to send him out on a high,” former Scotland and Lions coach Telfer said. “It’s a shame because he’s not at the end of the road. He’s got a lot more to offer this team and the players respect him because he does what he says.

“He’s a Kiwi but the first thing he did was work out what makes Scotland tick. He should really be staying until the World Cup.

“He’s got Scotland to the stage where they’re not a laughing stock,” Telfer told the Daily Mail. “They have respect from the opposition and he’s given the country hope.”