Jim Mallinder, who has been Scottish Rugby’s performance director since August 2019, is to leave his post at the end of this season.
Having previously spent a decade as a coach then director of rugby with Northampton Saints, followed immediately by a year as a national pathway coach with the RFU, the Englishman wants to take a break before deciding on his next move.
“I’ve pretty much gone back-to-back in jobs from Premiership Director of Rugby to the RFU to Scottish Rugby and so I’ve decided to stop, take a pause, before looking for something new,” Mallinder said yesterday. [Tues] “As anyone working in elite sport will tell you, there are a lot of time and travel commitments, so I’d like to spend some time at home once this role ends.
“I’ve hugely enjoyed Scotland and contributing to the successes our teams have had, and we have worked hard to improve areas which could be better. Since arriving I’ve been hugely impressed with how our teams perform and the results we can achieve against larger rugby nations.
“I’d like to thank everyone at Scottish Rugby for their support, as there are fantastic people right across the organisation and I wish everyone well for the future. I have also enjoyed working with Rugby Players Scotland [the players’ union], and am proud of the mutually respectful relationship we have with them.”
Scottish Rugby plans to appoint a successor to Mallinder in due course. “Jim is a rugby man through and through and I’d like to thank him for his leadership and contribution to our high-performance programmes over the past four years,” chief executive Mark Dodson said. “Jim has given a lot to this role and so I respect that he now wants to take time out and reflect before deciding what the next step is he wants to take in his career.”
