In the last week of the renowned Grouse Nations Series, the Scotland assistant coach will take over as head coach of the A team.
Prior to serving as assistant coach at Glasgow Warriors and Scotland, Horne coached the Ayrshire Bulls in the Super Series after retiring in 2021, having earned 45 caps for Scotland during his playing career.
Pete Murchie, who will teach defense, and Stevie Lawrie, who will train forwards, will join him.
Lawrie and Murchie, both former Scotland internationals, have been working with the forwards at Edinburgh Rugby since 2019. Murchie won the URC earlier this year while coaching Glasgow Warriors under Franco Smith.
Scotland A will play Chile for the first time since their last meeting, which also took place against Chile in 2022. Luke Crosbie led Scotland to victory in Santiago, where they won 45–5.
Following a 52–11 victory against Scotland in July, Chile will travel from South America with their entire international team.
“Coaching your country at any level is a real honor, and I am excited by the opportunity,” Pete Horne stated after being named head coach of the A team. When Gregor asked if I would be leading Scotland A, I seized the opportunity. Chile was a serious threat when the national team played them in the summer. It will be amazing to watch the players.
“There are a lot of talented young players in Scotland, but there aren’t always many opportunities for them to try themselves at the next level,” Horne remarked. These guys use the A games as a springboard to prove themselves and advance to the first team.
Players chosen for The Famous Grouse Nations Series as well as others called up especially for the A game will make up the roster.
The majority of the players will be young, but each one will be in a different point of their career, Horne stated.
There will be youthful athletes who haven’t contributed much to their professional squad as well as men who have represented their country but haven’t yet made a name for themselves.
The night before Scotland plays Australia in the renowned Grouse Nations Series, the Chile game will take place. During the training week, the A team players will have the opportunity to experience life at the Scotland camp, which Horne thinks will improve the experience.
“The national team squad and I will be based at Oriam for the week, which will create a really competitive environment,” he stated. Whether it’s the A match or the match against Australia, everyone on the training field will be preparing for a game over the weekend. That will provide training an advantage.
Employees from Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh Rugby, and Scottish Rugby’s pipeline will assist Pete Horne.
