Two coaches at the top of Scottish rugby have completed the highest available coaching qualification in the country.

Scotland 7s Head Coach John Dalziel and Head Coach of BT Premiership side Ayr, Calum Forrester, have gained the United Kingdom Coaching Certificate (UKCC) Level 4 qualification, delivered in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University and sportscotland.

The course takes a minimum of two years to complete and aims to increase the standard of Scotland’s performance coaches by developing outstanding and knowledgeable decision makers who are better placed to advance their own and others learning.

Dalziel coached Scotland U20 to their highest ever tournament finish in the World Rugby U20 Championship last year and Forrester was named BT Coach of the Season in 2017 after leading Ayr to the BT Premiership title.

Dalziel said: “There’s a good sense of accomplishment now that it’s all done.

It really brings a lot of the things that you should consider as a head coach right to the surface and gives you really good inside knowledge of the best practise in these areas.

“It’s not like any of the other courses that you can do in terms of technical and tactical stuff, it’s more of the in-depth physiological and psychological approaches to coaching so it’s been a huge benefit.”

Previous graduates of the course include Glasgow Warriors’ Kenny Murray as well BT Premiership head coaches, Phil Smith and Steve Lawrie.

This year’s group of coaches, currently undertaking the course, is expected to finish this year and includes Scott Forrest (Head Coach of Scotland Women 7s), Ben Cairns (Head Coach of Currie Chieftains) and Nikki Walker (Assistant Coach of Scotland U20).

Scottish Rugby’s Head of Training and Education, Neil Graham, said: “We are delighted to have John and Calum completing the course after a busy and successful season.

“Our work with Edinburgh Napier University and sportscotland has enhanced the development opportunities for Scotland’s up-and-coming coaches and we aim to continue that well into the future.

We are committed to nurturing Scottish coaching talent through this qualification and we hope to see strong interest for inclusion in the next group this summer.”

Applications for the next intake of UKCC Level 4 coaches are open now and close on Monday 30April.

For more information and to apply please visit: http://www.scottishrugby.org/ukcc-level-4.