Scotland lost all five of their RBS 6 Nations games, but after talks with SRU chief executive Mark Dodson it was agreed he would see out his contract until after the 2015 World Cup.

And Irvine, who also represented the British and Irish Lions, believes the decision will bear fruit in the long run.

Irvine told the Scotsman: “I think it’s the right decision by Andy to carry on and by the SRU to back him, and it’s a good thing for the Scottish game right now.

“Sometimes we get a wee bit carried away in Scotland. This wasn’t quite the disaster of a Six Nations that the results and wooden spoon suggest in my opinion. Let us just say Dan Parks didn’t get that kick charged down, I think we’d have beaten England.

“Mistakes were costly but that does not change my belief that Andy is a very good coach.

“There are areas he can tighten up quickly, such as kick-offs, which have been abysmal and have cost us several wins on their own, with errors of judgment by players and stupid yellow cards too.

“You need a bit of luck, and fortunate refereeing decisions rather than unfortunate ones, to win with Scotland, and we got that in wins against Australia, South Africa and Argentina, but haven’t got any this season.

“But against teams with far greater strength in depth we have been much closer and in positions to win, which is why I think Andy is right to be given at least another year.”