FERGUS PRINGLE has been appointed Scotland Under-20s forwards coach, while Scott Forrest has joined Kenny Murray’s team as assistant coach focusing on attack.
Pringle joins the age-group set-up from Watsonians, where he has been head coach of the Super6 side since 2019, leading them to the Championshio in the most recent campaign as well as winning the Sprint Series earlier this year. “I’d like to thank Watsonians for the Super6 Head Coaching opportunity,” he said.
“For the last three and a half years they’ve trusted me to develop the Super6 programme. There is a special group of players and staff at the club that will no doubt drive the club onto more success in the future, both on and off the field.
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“I’m really excited to join Scotland U20 as forwards coach and to work alongside an experienced coach like Kenny and the wider management group. It’s a great opportunity to work with the best young players in the country who are coming through our systems and support their development to reach their full potential.”
Forrest’s most recent post was as high-performance manager with the Scotland national women’s team. He was also head coach of Scotland Women Sevens at this year’s Commonwealth Games and held the equivalent position with Team GB at last year’s Olympic Games.
“I’m delighted to be able to confirm our coaching group ahead of the 2023 Under-20 Six Nations campaign,” head coach Murray said. “In both Fergus and Scott we’ve got two quality coaches who are specialists in their areas and have huge amounts of experience in high-performance environments. Both coaches will be in camp this week as the playing group come together for the second of three camps prior to the Christmas break.
“I’d like to thank Watsonians for their assistance in the process of Fergus transitioning into his role with the U20s programme. We will now work with Watsonians in finding a replacement for Fergus.
“The changes in the coaching staff also allows Shade Munro and Rob Chrystie, who worked as assistant coaches with the team last year, to continue their work in developing our young players within the academies of Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby. Having both Shade and Rob focussing on their respective teams will be of great benefit to the development of the young players within those environments.”
Congratulations, he’s done a great job for Watsonians Super 6.
Agree. Will be interesting to see if an appointment from Super 6 makes a difference, as the U20s haven’t been brilliant recently.