Ian McGeechan is urging Scottish rugby to rally together to help restore pride back into the national team.

The former Scotland and British and Irish Lions coach was recently very scathing in his criticism of the SRU in his autobiography, Lion Man, but has moved to quell the conflict by insisting there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

McGeechan, who had an unsuccessful reign as Scotland coach and then director of rugby from 2000-2005, believes changes to financing and talent pooling are needed to give Andy Robinson’s side any chance of success.

He said: “The key in Scotland is not to miss any talent, because we have so few players.

“If it was purely a rugby argument you would say Scottish rugby has to have at least three professional teams, maybe four, but you can never divorce that necessity from the financial arguments, unfortunately.

“But, where Ireland and Wales are moving on, and moving ahead of us, is the ability of the whole country there to work with each other to ensure the kid who has talent as a schoolboy works through the system as an amateur to a club, to an academy, with everybody helping.”