Dave Butcher appointed as Scotland Women’s Forwards Coach

Butcher has established a strong reputation as a specialist in set piece and brings extensive experience having coached across men’s and women’s international, professional and performance-pathway environments for more than 20 years.

Most recently, he served as Assistant Coach (Forwards) with the Canada Women’s National Team, who reached the Rugby World Cup Final in 2025.

This appointment marks a return to Scottish Rugby for Butcher, who previously worked across a performance and national age-grade programmes within the men’s pathway, including coaching Scotland U16s, U17s, the Scottish Development XV and working with the Scottish Qualified Programme, as well as leading talent identification programmes internationally.

Speaking on the announcement, Butcher said: “I’m hugely excited to join Scotland Women and return to Scottish Rugby. This is a programme with clear ambition and enormous potential, and I cannot wait to contribute to it. I’m really looking forward to working with Sione, Ioan, the wider management team and of course the players, starting with the upcoming Six Nations.”

Scotland Women Head Coach Sione Fukofuka said: “I am delighted to welcome Dave to the programme as our Forwards Coach. The experience that he brings from coaching at the highest level will really allow us to harness the power of an already incredibly strong forward pack. Dave’s knowledge and detail will be a major asset for our programme as we continue to raise standards and accelerate the programme.”