Richard Cockerill slams Scotland, reveals why they won’t win a thing
Rugby NewsFriday, 24 January 2025 at 20:06
In a recent interview, Richard Cockerill, the former head coach of Edinburgh, directed criticism towards Scottish Rugby.
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Cockerill, who now oversees Georgian Rugby, helmed Edinburgh from 2017 to 2021 before joining England as their forwards coach from 2021 to 2023.
Speaking to the Mail Online, Cockerill said: “A lot of the young players in Scotland just physically aren’t capable.
“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."
Delving deeper into the issues, Cockerill added: “The biggest thing I think about the Union (Scottish Rugby) is, if you’re not very good at your job, you don’t leave. They’ll just move you somewhere else.
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"“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?
“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?
“I joined Edinburgh in 2017, and the two best tightheads were Zander Fagerson and WP Nel. That’s still the case now, seven years later.
“Where’s the next young kid? That’s a concern. Italy are getting stronger and Georgia are getting stronger, I’ll make sure of that.
“When this generation of Scotland players slowly starts to fall off the edge of the cliff, who’s going to take over?
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, examines the composition of various national teams, shedding light on the number of foreign-born players and how they qualify for their respective squads.
Foreign-born players in the 2025 Six Nations breakdown by country
While most players represent the nation where they were born and developed, others bring a unique blend of experiences, having honed their skills abroad before qualifying to play for their adopted countries.
This blend of talent highlights the global nature of rugby and the different pathways players take to the international stage.
The following breakdown, based on data compiled by Americas Rugby News
ENGLAND
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 39/41 (95.2%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 3/41 (7.3%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 3/41 (7.3%)
- Bevan Rodd (Scotland) - Parent
- Chandler Cunningham-South (England) - Born in England
- Harry Randall (England) - Born in England
- Marcus Smith (Philippines) - Parent
- Tom Roebuck (Scotland) - Parent
FRANCE
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 39/42 (92.8%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 6/42 (14.2%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 6/42 (14.2%)
- Dany Priso (Cameroon) - Residency (2008)
- Uini Atonio (New Zealand) - Residency (2014)
- Giorgi Beria (Georgia) - Residency (2002)
- Joshua Brennan (Ireland) - Residency (2005)
- Emmanuel Meafou (New Zealand) - Residency (2023)
- Émilien Gailleton (England) - Parent
IRELAND
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 30/36 (83.3%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 9/36 (25%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 9/36 (25%)
- Rob Herring (South Africa) - Grandparent
- Finlay Bealham (Australia) - Grandparent
- Cormac Izuchukwu (England) - Parent
- Joe McCarthy (USA) - Parent
- Jamison Ratu Gibson-Park (New Zealand) - Residency (2020)
- Bundee Aki (New Zealand) - Residency (2017)
- Ciarán Frawley (Australia) - Parent
- Mack Hansen (Australia) - Parent
- James Lowe (New Zealand) - Residency (2020)
ITALY
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 21/31 (67.7%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 9/31 (29.0%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 9/31 (29.0%)
- Dino Lamb-Cona (England) - Parent
- Sebastian Negri (Zimbabwe) - Parent
- Ross Vintcent (South Africa) - Grandparent
- Martin Page-Relo (France) - Grandparent
- Stephen Varney (Wales) - Parent
- Juan Ignacio Brex (Argentina) - Grandparent
- Montana Ioane (Australia) - Residency (2020)
- Ange Capuozzo (France) - Parent
- Matt Gallagher (England) - Parent
SCOTLAND
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 23/38 (60.3%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 15/38 (39.4%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 15/38 (39.4%)
- Pierre Schoeman (South Africa) - Residency (2021)
- Ewan Ashman (Canada) - Parent
- Dylan Richardson (South Africa) - Parent
- Will Hurd (England) - Grandparent
- Marshall Sykes (England) - Grandparent
- Josh Bayliss (England) - Grandparent
- Jack Dempsey (Australia) - Grandparent
- Ben White (England) - Grandparent
- Fergus Burke (New Zealand) - Grandparent
- Tom Jordan (New Zealand) - Residency (2024)
- Rory Hutchinson (England) - Grandparent
- Sione Tuipulotu (Australia) - Grandparent
- Arron Reed (England) - Parent
- Kyle Rowe (England) - Cumulative Residency
- Duhan van der Merwe (South Africa) - Residency (2020)
WALES
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS: 26/34 (76.4%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 10/34 (29.4%)
FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS: 10/34 (29.4%)
- WillGriff John (England) - Parent
- Henry Thomas (England) - Parent
- Will Rowlands (England) - Parent
- Freddie Thomas (England) - Grandparent
- Christ Tshiunza (DR Congo) - Residency (2015)
- James Botham (Wales) - Born in Wales
- Taulupe Faletau (Tonga) - Residency (2001)
- Ellis Bevan (England) - Parent
- Nick Tompkins (England) - Grandparent
- Blair Murray (New Zealand) - Parent
- Ellis Mee (England) - Parent
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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