Scott Johnson appointment is a risky step for the SRU

Scott Johnson has had a meteoric rise to the top of Scottish Rugby.

This week he was appointed Director of Rugby a post that has been described as “a hugely important appointment, absolutely integral to Scotland’s standing on the world stage in the next decade and beyond”.

For a man who this time last year was Andy Robinson’s attack coach, it hasn’t been a bad 12 months.

For the time being, Johnson will remain as the interim head coach for the national team, where he will be joined by an old acquaintance of his from the Ospreys, Jonathan Humphreys, who has been appointed forwards coach.

The role of the Director of Rugby is very different from that of a coach, which is where Johnson has spent most of his working life.

What’s more, Scottish rugby does have some quirky idiosyncrasies which need sensitive care and attention something Johnson has yet to demonstrate.

I believe Johnson’s appointment by CEO Mark Dodson is quite a risk as his focus needs to be where Scottish rugby has its greatest issues the structure below the professional game.

Dodson’s track record of hiring hasn’t been that great he’s already had to get rid of his Edinburgh coaching team and he made interesting changes at Glasgow when Sean Lineen was moved aside.

Dodson appreciates the need to get the Director of Rugby role right, but I question whether he too appreciates some of the nuances in Scottish rugby at grassroots level.

With this appointment he’s not only placed the Aussie’s reputation on the line, but also his own.

Meanwhile, the Champagne corks will have popped when the Lions selection was announced on Tuesday and Richie Gray, Stuart Hogg and Sean Maitland were awarded the ultimate honour of joining the tour to Australia.

Both Gray and Hogg can consider themselves fortunate for different reasons Hogg because of his relative inexperience and Gray because he flatters to deceive and lacks the work-rate of a top class international lock forward.

But the tour could be the making of both players.

Ryan Grant can consider himself hard done by, not least because Gatland has chosen Matt Stevens while Greig Laidlaw also has the right to feel disappointed he would have offered great cover at both scrum-half and fly-half especially because there are only two genuine 10s on tour.

It will be critical this Lions side forge a strong team ethic because they’ll need to if they are to defeat the Wallabies.

There is a lot of work still to do.