COCKERILL CERTAIN PYRGOS MOVE IS ‘PERFECT’

RICHARD COCKERILL has insisted Edinburgh winning the tug of war over Glasgow Warriors stand-off Henry Pyrgos has worked out well for both clubs. The Scotland international is poised to make his debut for Cockerill’s side from the bench against Bath at Meggetland tonight after moving from Scotstoun earlier in the summer. Warriors head coach Dave Rennie had hoped to retain the experienced No 9 and had publicly downplayed the chances of a move at the tail end of last season. However, it appears Cockerill managed to persuade the SRU that Pyrgos (below) would be better off going east, with Glasgow subsequently allowed to bring in former Australian international Nick Frisby as a replacement to complement scrumhalf duo George Horne and Ali Price. Cockerill, when asked whether Rennie would have been happy for Pyrgos to depart, replied: ‘I assume so because he let it happen.’ Asked whether he had to fight hard to convince the SRU — who own both Edinburgh and Glasgow — to approve the move, Cockerill said: ‘Not at all. I am working with the union the whole time. I am quite persuasive when I need to be. ‘We knew it was a position we needed to strengthen and to be fair to (director of rugby) Scotty Johnson and (chief executive) Mark Dodson, they wanted to make it work. ‘My job is to fight for Edinburgh and make sure we can be as good as we need to be. Nothing has changed, so I’m delighted to get Henry and delighted to get the support from the union. ‘If I think I can do something that will make this team better, I will be talking to my bosses and trying to get this team as good as it can be. ‘The way it has turned out with Frisby going to Glasgow and the two Scottish nines already there and Henry coming here, it is a perfect scenario. It makes sense and has worked out well for both parties. ‘We were looking for a nine who would add strength to our squad. If that was Henry, brilliant. If that wasn’t, I was always going to push to go outside and go into the market place. ‘Henry has experience and needed the chance to get back to where he would like to get to and compete for a first-choice spot for Scotland. He is very committed to us and I am delighted to have his experience in the squad. He is a perfect fit for us and will suit what we are trying to do very, very well.’