Full name Frank Hadden
Born
October 14, 1954, Dundee, Scotland
Current age 69 years 167 days
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Frank Hadden began his rugby career as understudy to Scotland and Lions fly half Ian McGeechan at Headingley RFC. His coaching career began whilst a teacher at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh. Under his guidance the school's First XV became a force in Scottish schools rugby, winning 54 of 58 matches in a remarkable run.
His first professional appointment was as assistant coach with the Caledonia Reds, but their merger with Glasgow Warriors saw Hadden return to Merchiston. Prior to his return to teaching, Hadden had been included on the 1998 Scotland tour of Australia as a technical coach.
His first break as a head coach came when internal problems caused Ian Rankin to leave his post at Edinburgh Gunners, now Edinburgh Rugby, in 2000. Hadden was asked by the SRU to take the position, and in 2004 he became the first coach to guide a Scottish professional side to a Heineken Cup quarter-final.
He became the interim coach of the Scottish national team following the departure of Matt Williams in 2005, and following wins over the Barbarians and Romania Hadden was installed as coach until after the 2007 World Cup. His first Six Nations match saw a famous win over France at Murrayfield, a result that was followed by Scotland's first Calcutta Cup win since 2000.
Scotland finished third in the 2006 tournament, their best finish since 2001. The 2007 tournament was less successful for the Scots, although Hadden was able to see Scotland through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup later that year.
The 2008 Six Nations saw certain sections of the media calling for Hadden to be removed following a string of poor performances that seemed to be heavily reliant on defence and the metronomic boot of Chris Paterson.
Hadden has been granted a rolling contract through 2008, and his side showed glimpses of their 2006 form in drawing their summer Test series against World Cup semi-finalists Argentina 1-1.
Despite this promise, Hadden was not to enjoy much longer in the job. A poor return in the 2009 Six Nations, with only a single win over Italy, meant that he parted ways with the SRU in April 2009.
Scrum Staff April 2009
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