Scotland will benefit from a full-time fitness coach

The 46-year-old, who was previously performance director with Sale Sharks, has signed a four-year contract which will take him through to the 2007 World Cup.

Hulme recently took charge of fitness preparations for the two-Test tour of South Africa and will work with the players for this year's World Cup in Australia.

Scotland coach Ian McGeechan said: "Marty has an outstanding track record of setting new levels of fitness for elite athletes.

"Both Jim Telfer and I are delighted with the work Marty has done on a part-time basis over the last two years and that's why we've appointed him to this full-time position.

"It will be a considerable boon for the Scotland players."

Our players will never have trained as hard as while they're at Spala Marty Hulme Scottish fitness coach

Hulme is planning a trip to Warsaw in Poland where a specifically-designed 'cool room' will aid preparations for the trip Down Under.

Hulme will oversee the fitness of a 32-man squad at the pioneering centre in Spala next month.

"Spala will be very important in our World Cup preparations," said Hulme.

"The groundwork we will do there will be integral to the players being at a physical peak for our first game in the World Cup.

"Spala has all the facilities for the team to train but it's big benefit is a cryo-therapy chamber, basically a vast cold room, where temperatures can be as low as minus 140c.

"The chamber means players can train hard three-four times a day without suffering any delayed muscle soreness.

"Our players will never have trained as hard as while they're at Spala but in the 10 days they're there, they will cover, effectively, four weeks' worth of fitness training."