"Not capable" - Richard Cockerill reveals why Scotland 'won’t win a thing'

Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 18:48

byRugby Rucker

Richard Cockerill launched a stinging attack on Scottish Rugby, questioning the nation’s development system and warning that the current set-up is failing to produce the next generation of top-level talent.

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The former Edinburgh Rugby head coach – who also served as forwards coach with England national rugby union team – did not hold back in a candid interview with the Mail Online.

Cockerill, who led Georgia national rugby union team until recently, believes deep-rooted structural issues are holding Scotland back.

“Physically Not Capable”

The ex-England hooker, who coached Edinburgh from 2017 to 2021, claimed that Scotland’s young players are falling behind physically.

“A lot of the young players in Scotland just physically aren’t capable,” he told the Mail Online in 2024.

Reflecting on his arrival in the Scottish capital, Richard Cockerill added:

“When I arrived in Edinburgh in 2017, I felt a lot of our players in the youth system were physically underdeveloped.

“The people who were in charge of those programmes back in 2017, who I didn’t believe were good enough, are still there now. How can you change anything if nothing ever changes? That’s the reality.”

Under-20s Relegation Row

Cockerill also pointed to Scotland’s relegation from the World Rugby Under-20 Championship as evidence of systemic failure.

“I coached seven games in Montpellier. I won one of them and got the sack. Scotland got relegated from the Under-20s World Cup.

“They lost to Uruguay. Are you telling me Uruguay have a better youth system than Scotland?”

The outspoken coach questioned the accountability within the union.

“The biggest thing I think about the Union is, if you’re not very good at your job, you don’t leave. They’ll just move you somewhere else.

“If you don’t change anything, nothing will change. If the same people are kept in place, running the same programme that clearly isn’t producing results, why will anything change?”