Scotland head to Twickenham on Saturday with their best shot at beating England in a very long time. They have already upset the perceived hierarchy of the Six Nations by defeating Ireland and Wales, and coming close to an away win in France, and are playing with a verve and swagger not seen in a Scottish side for many a year.

Vern Cotter has been integral to this transformation. Since joining Scotland in the summer of 2014 he has imbued them with confidence and given them licence to attack, crafting a smart gameplan which works to their strengths. He has turned the side into genuine Six Nations contenders; with a number of players earmarked for the Lions tour this summer. Richie Gray, Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg (with Ryan Grant joining as an injury replacement) were the only Scottish tourists in 2013 – I would be surprised if there were not at least double that number this summer.

However, as announced back in August last year, Cotter will be departing in June, with Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend taking over. Cotter has been clear that this was not his decision. The question is then, why on earth is Scotland casting Cotter aside?

Cotter’s slow start
Perhaps Cotter is partly paying for his slow start to international coaching. Scotland finished winless and with the wooden spoon in the 2015 Six Nations championship.

International sport does not allow coaches a long grace period. Maybe the writing had already been on the wall from that point and they had been casting enviable glances at Glasgow and Gregor Townsend holding the Pro12 trophy aloft that summer.

But let’s remember just what Cotter achieved with Clermont Auvergne – a home winning run of 76 matches, a first Top14 Championship in the history of the club and they never finished outside the top four. His credentials are immaculate.

Let’s also not forget just what a nadir Scotland were in. After Andy Robinson’s dull reign and subsequent departure, Scott Johnson took over. They may have managed a win more in 2014 than 2015 but the feeling around Scottish rugby was one purely of despondency and embarrassment. Cotter had to drag the national side out of the pit into which they had fallen – that takes time and the 2015 results should reflect on those that preceded him, not Cotter himself.

That Autumn they came within a whisker of defeating Australia and making a World Cup semi final. And this was certainly not a fluke or their peak, as some thought at the time – their game has steadily improved since then and the position they hold now is a far cry from the team that could not cross the whitewash for love nor money under Robinson and Johnson.

Cotter has restored confidence and pride in the Scottish national side. He has turned raw potential into title contenders.

Vern Cotter certainly won’t be short of suitors – he if off to Montpellier now – but canny national rugby bodies will have noticed what he did with Scotland. Not to mention there is a certain All Blacks coaching spot becoming available in 2019. Cotter’s style and abilities look a better fit to the talent at the New Zealand coach’s disposal than other top Kiwi coaches harbouring ambitions of the biggest job in world rugby, such as Joe Schmidt or Warren Gatland.

Gregor Townsend
The Glasgow coach is probably the main factor in Scotland’s decision to drop Cotter. Long ear-marked as a future Scotland coach, and doing wonders with the team at Glasgow, there was a growing fear of losing Gregor Townsend abroad. A ‘now or never’ mentality appeared.

And it is understandable. Townsend has brought Glasgow so far in recent years – they make the play-offs every year and were champions in 2014-15. They are playing with freedom and confidence, built around a young core of Scottish players. The national side is already benefitting from Townsend’s coaching, as the heart of the team is Glasgow players like Jonny Gray, Mark Bennett, Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell.

But casting aside Cotter so quickly and completely, in my view, is misguided and a mistake.

Missed opportunity
Cotter deserved the opportunity to finish what he started with this team – certainly to lead them through to the 2019 World Cup. As it stands we will never know what he could really have accomplished with a proper period in charge.

Townsend is a top coach, and certainly had future Scotland coach written all over him. But the SRU should have waited in appointing him. If he left for another top job, so what? It is just added experience he could have brought to the role.

Townsend is Scottish through and through (he won 82 caps for his country after all) – and he wants the job. He is not an international mercenary, looking for the biggest paycheck. Even if he took another role, if Scotland came calling in 2019 they could be certain he would jump at the chance.

The other option would be, why not get these two top coaches working in tandem? They should have brought Townsend into the fold this summer, to work under Cotter. Thus achieving some continuity and a smooth transition between the two post-world cup.

I understand the view that head coaches would never deign to return to being a subordinate, but Townsend is not that arrogant. Not only would Townsend benefit personally from the knowledge of one of the rugby’s top coaches but Scotland would also have a coaching team the envy of the world leading them into 2019.

Defeating England this weekend and a shot at a first title in decades would certainly be a fitting send off to a coach who has achieved so much progress. But it could end up a bitter-sweet success as it would reinforce what a short sighted and frankly foolish mistake it was by Scottish Rugby to let Vern Cotter go.

What do you think?

By Henry Ker