Lang relishing life at Edinburgh
NEW Edinburgh centre James Lang may describe his decision to quit Premiership champions Harlequins and move north to Scotland this summer as “a no-brainer”.
But he concedes “it was panic stations” last month when Richard Cockerill, the man who had sold the club to him, abruptly left his post as head coach.
“I won’t lie. There were a couple of days when I was in limbo,” said the 26-yearold Scotland international. “I didn’t know who was coming in and I was a little bit agitated.
“You sign for a club, for a coach, and then that coach leaves. Then what if the next coach comes in and I am not part of his plans, or he doesn’t like me? That all goes through your mind.
“I messaged my agent to ask him to try and find out who was coming in.’”
Fortunately for Lang, the limbo didn’t last long. Edinburgh appointed former Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair, right, an assistant coach under Gregor Townsend with the national team, a mere four days after Cockerill’s departure.
Lang described the news as “a weight lifted” from his shoulders. He has worked with Blair at Scotland camps for the past three years and particularly over the last ten months, during the Autumn Nations Cup – when initial talks over his move to Edinburgh began – and this year’s Six Nations.
Cockerill transformed the capital outfit from serial under-achievers to contenders in the PRO14 and Europe – albeit ending in five consecutive knockout defeats – with a pragmatic, abrasive approach.