Former Scotland coach Vern Cotter has accepted a three-year contract to coach Fiji.

Cotter succeeded fellow New Zealander John McKee, who guided the Pacific nation from 2014 until the end of his contract in December.

Cotter coached French club Clermont to the Top 14 title in 2010 after leading it to the final in three previous seasons.

He has coached Montpellier since 2017, guiding it to the Top 14 final in 2018.

His contract at Montpellier ends in June, ahead of Fiji’s first Test of the year against Tonga on July 4.

Cotter had a 53 per cent success rate in his four years as Scotland coach, winning 19 of his 36 matches in charge.

But that was the best record of any Scotland coach since Ian McGeechan left the role in 1993.

Cotter restored respect to Scotland, raising standards and belief. They reached the 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals where they lost to Australia to a late penalty kick which was later decided was given in error.

“Cotter presented a thorough and detailed plan to take the team to new levels of success and we were impressed by his vision and expectations of what can be achieved by the program,” Fiji Rugby Union chairman Francis Kean said.

Cotter wasn’t present on Tuesday at the news conference in Suva but said in a statement, “Fiji rugby has come a long way in the last few years and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with the talent within the national teams and enhance the competitiveness of Fiji on the world stage.”

Cotter has a strong knowledge of Fiji’s top players, having coached Nemani Nadolo, Nemani Nagusa, Napolioni Nalaga and Sitiveni Sivivatu during his time in France.

Fiji had a disappointing World Cup in Japan last year, winning only one of its pool matches and losing to Uruguay. It dropped out of the top 10 world rankings to 11th.

“It is no secret we were disappointed with the results from the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and with the appointment of Vern Cotter we hope to see the Flying Fijians produce the success we believe they are capable of achieving,” Kean said.

“We are committed to support this new head coach with the resources he needs to manage a high performance program that develops the widespread talent available in order to progress Fiji rugby back up the world rugby rankings.”