Dave Butcher has been named Scotland women head coach on a formal basis after a spell as interim boss.

Butcher stepped in following Sione Fukofuka's unexpected departure in August and oversaw the recent WXV series, during which the Scots lost five out of five.

Scotland women do not have any scheduled fixtures until April, when they open their Six Nations campaign at home to Ireland.

And Butcher said: "It is fantastic to be named the head coach of Scotland women. It is an amazing thing and group to be a part of.

"I'm really excited to be able to dive into the role beyond the recent campaign, focusing on the alignment of the programme and how we push forward performance from the national talent pathway, the national academy and the Celtic Challenge into the national team.

"We can't be a standalone team without connection beneath us, so our immediate priority will be to review WXV and connect with the players, but going forward we want to be really intentional about how we go after our talent and how we develop that is going to be hugely important, with our rugby identity as a nation being key to all of that."