Hodge takes temporary charge at Edinburgh after Solomons exit
DUNCAN Hodge will take charge of Edinburgh Rugby in their PRO12 league match against Connacht tomorrow after Alan Solomons stepped down as head coach just four games into the season.
The move was announced yesterday by Scottish Rugby, who are to hold a special general meeting at the end of next month where clubs will be asked to approve plans to attract outside investment in both Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors.
The Warriors have also confirmed the signing of Langilangi Haupeakui, the 27-year-old American international forward, on a two-year deal. And, on an extremely busy day for Scottish rugby, French club Montpellier stated that, as reported in yester- day’s Herald, Vern Cotter will join them as head coach when his Scotland contract expires next summer.
Solomons signed a one-year extension to his contract earlier this year, but Edinburgh have begun the season poorly and come under mounting criticism for their style of play as much as their results.
Crowds at Murrayfield have been poor even by their own modest standards, and, with a move to Myreside scheduled for the New Year, it was clear something needed to be done to attempt a change of fortune.
“I have decided to step down,” Solomons said yesterday. “I understand Scottish Rugby have appointed Duncan Hodge as the new acting head coach and I wish him well.
“I have greatly enjoyed working with the players and coaches, and feel I have helped to put the club on a much stronger footing over the past three years and am leaving it in a better place than when I arrived.”
Hodge was a short-term caretaker coach along with Stevie Scott before Solomons arrived in 2013.
He will now get a chance to “stake his claim for the role on a permanent basis” according to the SRU announcement. Scott remains as forwards coach, and Peter Wilkins also stays in post as defence coach.
Edinburgh and Glasgow cost the union around £5 million each per year, and the meeting on October 28 will be asked to approve the potential sale of a stake in either or both teams to outside investors. An SRU spokesman, however, insisted that neither would be sold off.
“We would envisage retaining a significant degree of control,” he said. The motion needs a two-thirds majority to be carried.
Meanwhile, Montpellier have said the arrival of Cotter next summer “should help write a new chapter in the history of [the club].” Thursday, 29th September, 2016