New Scotland coach Vern Cotter in showdown talks with Clermont

Scotland chiefs will find out on Monday if coach-in-waiting Vern Cotter will be free to take the reins a year earlier than planned.

The big New Zealander held showdown talks with Clermont president Rene Fontes in Paris on Saturday. And speculation was mounting that Cotter could be sacked when the club’s board hold an emergency meeting on Monday morning.

Officials have accused him of jumping the gun by appearing in Scotland kit during last week’s media conference at Murrayfield.

In addition to branding him “disrespectful” to Clermont, they also allege he breached his contract by bad-mouthing recruitment policy in a French radio interview.

The SRU appointed Cotter knowing he still had 12 months of his contract to run but it now looks likely that he will link up with director and caretaker team boss Scott Johnson much sooner.

If he is booted out by Clermont this week, he could even be part of the back room team for Saturday’s clash with Samoa in Durban.