Bristol Bears appoint Alasdair Dickinson as new scrums coach

Bristol Bears have announced former Scotland international Alasdair Dickinson as the new scrums coach for the Gallagher Premiership club.

Dickinson has a vast playing experience in a career spanned between 2003 and 2018 where he featured for Edinburgh, Gloucester Rugby, Sale Sharks and Moseley (on loan).

The 36-year-old also played for Scotland in 58 Tests and was part of the squads that competed in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 editions of World Cup.

“The opportunity to join a club like Bristol is massive for me and I’m grateful to Pat for putting his faith in me," he told the official website of the club.

"I’ve been impressed by the environment and vision of the Bears and clearly everything is in place for the club to push forward over the next few years.

“I have ambitions to be world class in my field and have already learned so much during my time coaching with Scotland.

"The quality of the Bears forward unit – with a blend of experience and really exciting young players – is outstanding and I’m looking forward to working with the group, continuing to develop that pack mentality and helping to take Bears to the next level.”

Since retiring from his playing career, Dickinson worked as a scrum coach with the Scottish Rugby Union, working with Scotland Women, the U20s and the academies.

Bristol Bears director of rugby Pat Lam welcomed Dickinson to the club and is confident that his experience will prove beneficial.

“After a lengthy and thorough process, we’re delighted to bring Alasdair onboard as the standout candidate for the scrum coach role.

“Alasdair is a young coach with huge ability and a hunger to develop himself into a world class scrum coach. He’s played at the very highest level and has a detailed understanding of the set piece and how it can be a destructive weapon for the team.

“We’re proud of the progress we have made with our set piece and our ambition is to have the most dominant scrum in the Gallagher Premiership.”