Scottish Rugby include most-capped captain in new coaching team

Scotland U20s will have a new-look coaching team for 2026, led by Fergus Pringle.

Pringle has stepped up into the head coach role, having previously been an assistant under Kenny Murray, who will begin a new job with Scottish Rugby as National Talent Pathway Lead.

Former Edinburgh Rugby lock Pringle had spells coaching at Boroughmuir and Currie Chieftains before taking over at Watsonians, leading them to a Super Series Championship victory in 2022.

He joined Scotland U20 as an assistant coach in 2022 and in the summer of this year, was forwards coach of the Scotland men’s national team on the Pacific Tour.

Pringle will also continue in his role as a coach with Edinburgh Rugby’s Academy.

Two new assistant coaches also come into the U20 set-up, with Greig Laidlaw and Sean Kennedy joining the group.

Laidlaw, who holds the male record for the most Scotland appearances as captain, with 39, and is second in the all-time points chart, was recently head coach at Urayasu-D Rock in Japan, where he finished his playing career. He joins on a consultancy basis for the 2026 Under-20 Six Nations.

Kennedy, who represented Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby at scrum-half, has been working with Stirling County as their defence coach and is currently the coach of the National Talent Pathway 1 and 2 programmes for Edinburgh.

“Having Greig and Sean as part of the coaching group is brilliant. Both have had great careers and will be an inspiration to our players,” said Pringle.

“Greig was an iconic Scotland captain and is an instantly recognisable figure that our players will be able to glean a lot of insight from.

“We have our first training camp at the end of the year and that will help us in preparation for the Six Nations at the start of 2026.”