Richie Dixon, the Scotland coach, yesterday insisted he had no intention of resigning despite mounting pressure on the Scottish Rugby Union to replace him. Recent heavy defeats by South Africa and Australia at Murrayfield have triggered a whispering campaign aimed at forcing Dixon's removal before the start of the Five Nations Championship in February.
A number of former international players have suggested the SRU director of rugby Jim Telfer should take over as national coach though Telfer himself has so far not thrown his hat into the ring. Having helped coach the Lions in last Summer's Test series triumph in South Africa, Telfer clearly has impeccable credentials but, at 57, he may prefer the relative security of his current post which he has held for the past four years.
Dixon, who has often sought the advice of Telfer and the former Scotland coach Ian McGeechan, declared he was "comfortable with the situation" after consulting colleagues within the SRU.
However, next month's warm-up international against Italy in Bologna is likely to be the litmus test of Dixon's continued tenure: if the Scots lose to the Italians - who defeated a Scottish XV last year - the writing will almost certainly be on the wall.
To some extent Dixon, an honest down to earth realist, has become the victim of accelerating standards in southern hemisphere rugby which have recently exposed the lack of depth in Europe's international resources. Those critics in Scotland who feel a scapegoat is required for a couple of humiliating set-backs have overlooked the fact that the national side has failed to prosper, the odd upset apart, against the Springboks and the Wallabies since the '60s.
If Dixon is still coach when the five nations begins, he may well regard Scotland's game against Ireland in Dublin as a potential lifeline: the Irish have not beaten the Scots home or away since 1988. Scotland's international record against Wales and, more improbably, France, has also exceeded expectations during the '90s, something for which Dixon may take a fair amount of credit. Fairness though tends not to have much bearing on the fate of national coaches - as England's Jack Rowell discovered last Summer.
The Wales captain Gwyn Jones, who damaged his spinal cord playing for Cardiff against Swansea last Saturday, is to have an operation today. The 25-year old flanker, who has no movement in his arms or legs and whose injury was described by his neuro-surgeon as very serious, will have the operation at the University Hospital of Wales in Neath after which a statement will be issued.
