Scottish bosses have revealed the race to succeed the recently deposed head coach Frank Hadden has been reduced to a shortlist of just six candidates.

Former England coach Andy Robinson, who is in charge at Edinburgh, remains the front runner but SRU chief executive Gordon McKie insisted it was far from a one-horse race.

A five-man selection panel to find the new Scotland head coach includes three former international captains and former British and Irish Lions.

Andy Irvine, Andy Nicol, Gordon Bulloch, SRU chair Alan Munro and McKie will choose Hadden's successor.

"Andy (Robinson) has made an application, and can tick many of the boxes," said McKie, who revealed 30 names had originally applied for the position.

"We're very pleased with the number of applications we've had, but we'll do this thoroughly. The most important thing is that we don't rush it.

"After the first interview, we'll have a second interview and maybe even a third - but the most important thing is that we get the right guy.

"The calibre reflects both home and overseas candidates, so we've narrowed it down to about six that we're quite keen to see in the next couple of weeks."