Ex-Howe of Fife player Peter Horne joins Scotland national rugby team’s coaching set-up

​Former Howe of Fife player Peter Horne has joined the Scottish national rugby team’s coaching set-up after helping out earlier this year.
Peter Horne at a Fosroc Super Series Sprint match between Ayrshire Bulls and Glasgow Warriors A at Millbrae in Ayr in April (Pic: Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)Peter Horne at a Fosroc Super Series Sprint match between Ayrshire Bulls and Glasgow Warriors A at Millbrae in Ayr in April (Pic: Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)
Peter Horne at a Fosroc Super Series Sprint match between Ayrshire Bulls and Glasgow Warriors A at Millbrae in Ayr in April (Pic: Ross MacDonald/SNS Group/SRU)

Head coach Gregor Townsend has recruited Horne, with the Cupar club from 2007 to 2009, as an assistant coach specialising in attack and contact.

That appointment follows Townsend drafting the 34-year-old into his coaching team on an ad-hoc basis for the Scots’ Six Nations and Rugby World Cup campaigns this year.

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The former Scotland international, capped 45 times between 2013 and 2021, joins fellow assistant coaches Steve Tandy, John Dalziel and Pieter de Villiers, following the departure of New Zealander Brad Mooar, as they begin preparations for next year’s Six Nations.

Since retiring two years ago, Aberdeen-born Horne, a former pupil of Cupar’s Bell Baxter High School, has been head coach at Fosroc Super Series side Ayrshire Bulls and an assistant coach at his old club Glasgow Warriors.

His other clubs during his playing days, besides Howe and United Rugby Championship outfit Warriors, included Melrose, Stirling County and Glasgow Hawks.

Horne, son of former Howe head coach Garry and elder brother of current Scottish international George, said: “Coaching the Scotland team in the last year has been a privilege and a massive opportunity for me to work on the biggest stage. To have the chance to continue that in a full-time capacity is something I’m relishing.

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“My time coaching with Ayrshire Bulls and Glasgow Warriors has helped me prepare for my experiences with the national team and I have taken a lot of learnings from the past year.

“Working with this talented group of players greatly motivates me as a coach, as does the potential of this squad. I can’t wait to meet up with the players and management in 2024 and make further progress.”

Townsend, 50, added: “Pete is a very talented coach and has a great relationship with the players.

“He has also complemented the dynamic within the coaching group since joining us at the start of the year and brings valuable insight.

“I have been very impressed with his coaching style and the ideas he brings to the table.”