New deal for Haining good for club says Lawrie
Edinburgh have tied down Nick Haining on a new contract and assistant coach Steve Lawrie believes the flanker can be an important player for the club over the next couple of years, writes Graham Bean.
Thecapitalside’spriorityisto secure European rugby with a top-threefinishinthisseason’s Pro14 Conference B.
They currently lag 11 points behind third-placed Scarlets but have two games in hand and play the Welsh team at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Lawrieknowsit’samust-win game and expects Edinburgh tobouncebackfromlastweekend’s home defeat by Munster.
“It’s almost double points, isn’t it? People always say that, butit’sanextremelyimportant game and we need to take confidence into it,” Lawrie said.
“Weknowthatwe’reathome, we’ve done well against Scarlets previously when we’ve played Edinburgh Rugby’s way, so for us it’s a massively importantgameandit’simportantthatwehaveaweek’straining that improves on Munster andmakesurethatwe’reabsolutely on point for this weekend. Because there’s no hiding from it, it’s a very important game for our aspirations for next season.”
Haining will have a big role to play in the final five games ofthepro14seasonandbeyond andlawriethinksthescotland international has taken his game to a new level since moving north of the Border.
“He arrived from Bristol two seasons ago and he has impressed massively. We’ve seen him improve his game, and that’s been rewarded at national level,” said the coach.
“He’s a dynamic ball-carrier, he’s got good feet and he beats defenders that way, which is important given how organised defences are. He’s a good lineout forward. He gives us options across that back row. He’s also a very good club man as well - a guy that gets stuck in, cares about other people and is a real positive influence around the group.”
Edinburgh’s team selection for the Scarlets game is still up intheairastheywaitforadecision on Scotland’s Six Nations match with France.
If the latter game doesn’t go ahead as planned on Sunday then some international players could be released back to the Capital side.
A decision on the Paris game will be made tonight.
Montrose chairman John Crawford says the creation of a new chief executive role will allow the club to grow even further.
The League One club, languishing at the bottom end of the nation’s fourth tier not too long ago, are now very much on an upward trajectory.
Under manager Stewart Petrie, Montrose are challenging for promotion to the Championship, and those within their boardroom are determined to provide a platform for the club to continue their rise up the ranks of the leagues.
Current co-vice chairman Peter Stuart, inset, will take on the new role as chief executive for the club. Crawford and David Laing will remain as chairman and vice-chairman respectively, with Stuart putting an increased focus on the day-to-day financial business of the club. Crawford said: “Over recent years, the positivity, scale and momentum of all aspects of our club have grown, significantly increasing the volume of decisions to be made each and every day.
“We also harbour strong ambitions to continue this growth and success, and so it became increasingly apparent that the creation of a CEO position would provide the best possible platform from which to continue to build on that.”
Stuart said: “I very much look forward to working together with John , the rest of the board and the management team as we continue to grow and develop the strategy for the club.”
As part of that strategy, ownership of Links Park stadium has ben transferred to the club Bon Accord Estates several years earlier than planned.