Melrose’s Scott Wight appointed as attack coach for revived Scotland club XV
Melrose’s Scott Wight has been appointed as attack coach for Scotland’s club rugby international side ahead of their revival for a match away to Ireland next month.
Wight, co-head coach with Iain Chisholm at the Greenyards club and also attack coach for the South of Scotland inter-district championship side, is one of three assistants recruited to help out club XV gaffer Bob McKillop.
The others assisting McKillop, head coach of Melrose’s Arnold Clark Premiership rivals Heriot’s and also of Edinburgh’s inter-district team, are Andy Hill and Andy Henderson, his opposite numbers in the four-way championship at Glasgow and the West and Caledonia Reds respectively, and they’re joined by Watsonians’ Jono Willis as team manager.
Former Glasgow Warriors fly-half Wight’s latest role with Scotland’s club XV, launched in 2006 but out of action for the last six years, follows playing for them from 2009 to 2011 and acting as their head coach last time round in 2020.
The 40-year, also a former Scotland captain at sevens, is glad to see the club XV return and delighted to be back on board, telling Borders Rugby TV: “I’m really excited to be involved again.
“I’ve done it previously as a player and a coach, and I think it’s great for club players for it to be back.
“It’s another real pathway for club players to play international rugby again.
“It’s a great thing to have the inter-district championship back and club internationals back. Hopefully it will make inter-district rugby really strong and everybody will be wanting to play it.
“There’s a new set of coaches I’m really looking forward to working with and obviously a new group of players.
“It will be a really short programme, so it will be about making sure, as management, that we get all our balls lined up and make sure we’re speaking the same language and get real clarity, as well as making sure the players enjoy it, and that’s the main thing.
“That’s a big thing we’ll be putting a focus on – making sure the players enjoy it, so when they go back to their clubs, they speak about it, and hopefully that will build interest and in a couple of years’ time we’ll be playing three or four games instead of one.
“It’s great to be involved now it’s back up and running and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of playing Ireland away.”
McKillop, 58, is relishing the prospect of working with, rather than against, Wight too, saying: “I’ve got a great team of coaches with me. They’re very, very good at what they do and they’re all heavily involved in the inter-district championship.
“They’re great people as well and come with natural enthusiasm and credibility and I’m really, really looking forward to working with them all.
“I’ve watched Scott Wight grow from one of the most talented young stand-offs in the club game and he’s now one of the best and most innovative coaches in the club game. You only need to look at the speed of Melrose’s transition game and their ability to play unstructured rugby to know what a good coach Scott is.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and learning from him, and I think that’s really critical as we go into these new environments that we enjoy it and we bring our own best games but we also learn from people around us and we take that back to our clubs.”
McKillop and his coaching team have drawn up a provisional 37-strong list to pick a 23-strong match-day squad to take on the Irish at Donnybrook, near Dublin, on Friday, February 13, with kick-off at 6pm.
They’ll be contesting the Dalriada Cup, first competed for in 2011 and currently in Ireland’s possession following a 61-34 aggregate loss over two legs in Galashiels and Donnybrook six years ago for a squad overseen by Wight and featuring Selkirk’s Ewan MacDougall, James Bett, Ryan Cottrell and Aaron McColm; Jed-Forest’s Gregor Law and Calum Young; and Hawick’s Matt Carryer, Shawn Muir and Andrew Mitchell.
A return match in Scotland is already being pencilled in for 2027.
McKillop added: “It is an honour to lead a very strong coaching team for the reinstated club XV fixture.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase the quality of Scottish club rugby against a strong Irish side in Dublin, and for us as coaches to work together to create a special experience for everyone involved.
“The reintroduction of the programme is an exciting prospect for our club players and reflects the commitment to elevating the club game in Scotland.”