CURRENT Melrose coach Rob Chrystie will lead The Greenyards club into the new era of Super 6 rugby.

The Scottish Rugby Union has also announced that former Melrose favourite Graham Shiel will take charge of Boroughmuir.

And former Selkirk scrum-half Ciaran Beattie has been appointed as head coach of Heriot's for the new format.

The coaches will start in post from January 2019 and begin recruiting back-room staff and playing squads alongside the on-field rugby preparations for the inaugural campaign, which begins next season.

Having already guided Melrose to success Chrystie was seen as the natural choice to lead The Greenyards team into the new era.

Alongside his time at Melrose Chrystie has worked on Scottish Rugby’s National Skills Specialist Programme for three years.

The former Scotland A, Coventry, Border Reivers and Bath scrum-half, said: “Melrose has been at forefront of the domestic game for the past ten years, as league winners four times in the past eight seasons, so it’s really exciting to be part of a championship that will continue to push the boundaries of the game in Scotland.

“I currently balance a full-time job alongside being head coach of a top club side, and that takes up a lot of hours.

"I’d like to think we do a good job now, but time is a massive issue. Being full-time will definitely allow me to improve the quality of coaching we deliver.

“It’ll be really good to get the head down and look at ways we can drive the club forward, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well."

Former scrum-half Beattie played for Selkirk, the Border Reivers and Scotland 7s.

And he joined Heriot's from his role as Scotland Women Assistant Coach and Technical Blueprint Development Manager at Scottish Rugby.

Ciaran said: “Heriot’s is a great club and this a great new adventure for the whole of Scottish Rugby. It’s understating it to say I’m privileged to be part of it.

“Naturally you enter new opportunities with confidence in your own abilities but to have that backed up by such a huge club, that needs no introduction historically, means a great deal.

“The club is really going somewhere and I’m very excited to be at the helm, and to build on that history in this new era for all of Scottish rugby.”

Sheil, who is a former Scotland 7s and Scotland Women 7s head coach, enjoyed a distinguished playing career that saw him win 18 caps and score 19 points for the national team.

Graham, who was a key figure in the Melrose side that dominated the club game through the 1990s, is delighted with his appointment.

He said: “This is a really exciting to be involved in full-time coaching with an ambitious club like Boroughmuir, as part of an exciting new project with the other Super 6 clubs.

“It was too good an opportunity to miss in many ways and ultimately it’s going to be a great challenge for me personally in terms of driving my development as a coach, as we aim to develop the club from their youth development right through the championship side to the Super 6 team, creating a real pathway for players to come through a real community club like Boroughmuir.

“For me, it’s about challenging myself full-time in rugby, within a team environment and having the opportunities of having week to week games and preparation along with sharing in the player’s journey of how they become the best they can be."

The remit of Scottish Rugby’s Head of Academies, Sean Lineen extends to on-field responsibility for the Super 6 competition and he expressed his delight at seeing opportunities for homegrown coaches to pursue their career ambitions in Scotland.

He said: “Super 6 aims to narrow the gap between the professional, elite level and the top tier of Scotland’s domestic set-up, both from a playing and coaching perspective.

“The appointment of six, full-time Scottish coaches is a critical part of that process. It rewards the coaches for investing their time in the game and creates a meaningful pathway to the elite level of the sport.

“Coaching is an incredibly important pillar which is driving the objective of improving rugby in Scotland through the Super 6 process.”

Scottish Rugby and the six teams have signed the tournament licence agreements which covers the commercial rights, liabilities, licensing and operating standards, facilities and rugby provision for the competition, which will run initially for five years, starting in season 2019/20.

Scottish Rugby chief executive, Mark Dodson, said: “The signing of the Licence Agreements is a significant step in the progress of Super 6.

"We have worked closely with the six respective clubs, listened and collaborated together, to ensure the scope of the agreements works for all parties.

"We now have a clear framework to use going forward which enables both ourselves and the participating clubs to continue the work we have been undertaking to progress the Super 6 model and all the necessary elements which go into building an exciting new competition and level of rugby in Scotland.

"We have an on-going objective to improve the depth of coaching in Scotland at all levels. The Super 6 provides a unique, full-time opportunity for this exciting group of coaches to continue their development and make a significant contribution to improving rugby at this level.

"I’d like to congratulate the group and wish all them well in their new roles."