SRU gives backing to under-fire Scott Johnson

THE SRU last night backed Scott Johnson to remain Scotland’s head coach until the end of the season and insisted that he “retains the full support of Scottish Rugby.”

Scott Johnson: Staying put. Picture: PA

Johnson was appointed interim coach when Andy Robinson resigned in November, 2012, and planned to step down last May with the appointment of Vern Cotter as Scotland’s new head coach. However, Cotter’s French club Clermont Auvergne declined the SRU’s request for an early release and Johnson has held the reins since. He will take over as the SRU’s Director of Rugby when Cotter finally takes charge for Scotland’s summer tour.

Scotland have registered just four wins in his 13 games in charge, sliding to demoralising defeats to Ireland and England in this year’s RBS Six Nations Championship. However, an SRU spokesman told BBC Scotland: “We will all continue to work hard ahead of our next match – versus Italy a week on Saturday – to produce a win,. Scott Johnson and his coaches know the magnitude of the task we face to ensure we are competitive in the international arena.”

Scotland skipper Greig Laidlaw spoke of letting down the Scottish public with Saturday’s Calcutta Cup display, where Scotland’s 20-0 defeat was the first occasion where they had failed to register a point in the Murrayfield fixture in 36 years.

“The coaches have 100 per cent backing of the players, no doubt,” said Laidlaw. “The faults in these two games have not come from the coaches, but from the players.”