The Scottish Rugby Union has appointed former All Blacks fitness supremo Graham Lowe as director of performance rugby.

Lowe will take responsibility for strength and conditioning of all Scotland teams and oversee medical services and coach education.

The 38-year-old will provide full support to national head coach Andy Robinson in helping Scotland's players meet the physical challenges of international rugby.

SRU chief executive Gordon McKie said: "We are delighted to have secured the services of Graham Lowe for this important position.

"He will play a pivotal role in the continued development of our high-performance rugby teams and management of all supporting personnel.

"During his four years as the head strength and conditioning coach with the All Blacks, he was a key member of the senior management group that delivered an 88% win ratio, which included three successive Tri-Nations titles, a Lions series win and a Grand Slam tour to the British Isles in 2005."