Glasgow Warriors head coach, Gregor Townsend, has joined the board of the Winning Scotland Foundation

Former Scotland international rugby star Gregor Townsend, has signed up to join the Winning Scotland Foundation.

The Glasgow Warriors head coach has been appointed to the board of the foundation which was launched by rugby player turned businessman Sir Bill Gammell in 2006.

With an aim to create a nation of young people who achieve their personal best in life by working with coaches in sports clubs, schools and communities, Townsend is seen as someone who can offer an invaluable insight.

After being capped 82 times for Scotland, Townsend worked for the foundation on a full and part-time basis between 2008 and 2010 and has continued to champion the work of the charity ever since.

He was instrumental in establishing the role model programme, Champions in Scotland, where Scottish sports men and women visit schools to run workshops about important life skills such as resilience, learning from failure and achieving success from sustained effort.

Of his appointment, Townsend said: “I’m delighted to join the board of Winning Scotland Foundation.

“The work the charity is doing to ensure young people right across Scotland learn important life skills is so very important.

“I have learned so much from the charity that I use in my day-to-day coaching with Glasgow Warriors, including how to create a positive coaching environment, using role models to inspire others and the importance of having a growth mindset culture throughout the club.”

Sir Bill Gammell added: “We are delighted to welcome Gregor to join our board. His practical insight and learnings from many of the practices that he developed while with the Foundation will be of immense value to us.

“We look forward to his growth mindset adding to our vision to create a cultural change in Scotland where everyone believes that they can develop to become their personal best.”