ROCKET MAN
Cockerill shaking up ‘weak’ Edinburgh as he seeks proper leaders
ALACK of leadership. Weak culture. A month into his new job as Edinburgh head coach and Richard Cockerill has no inclination to sugar-coat his assessment of the squad he has inherited. Or to entertain those who will not embrace wholeheartedly the changes he feels need made. The former England international chose a steakhouse in Princes Street yesterday to cut through the problems he has faced since heading north after a lengthy spell in charge of Leicester Tigers and a brief sojourn with Toulon.
Edinburgh have been the poor relations of Scottish rugby over recent times, while Glasgow Warriors have excelled, and Cockerill is demanding an end to the underachievement.
One can only assume the message has been understood.
‘Did I have to put a rocket up some of them?’ said Cockerill. ‘Yeah, a little bit, but that is also what I had to do at Toulon.
‘I coach how I coach and I want guys that are going to work hard. I want them to step up to the plate. If they don’t then there will be conversations about what they will do in the future. There are a couple of guys already gone from the club.
‘In these first few weeks, I have had to find out where these guys are at. We have 11 current internationalists in our squad and, when you have that, you shouldn’t be sitting in the bottom four of the league year after year.
‘There is a bit of a weak culture and I have never had to build a club that has struggled from a culture point of view.
‘Although it won’t be a quick fix, I like the thought of having that challenge. In saying that, I have no magic potion to make us successful overnight but I want to help this club and the players to improve — and it can be done.’
Edinburgh have two former Scotland skippers in Ross Ford and Grant Gilchrist but Cockerill was quick to point out that the squad needed more leaders.
‘Another thing for me to decide is who will be my captain,’ said the 46-year-old Englishman. ‘There is not a lot of leadership within the team and I don’t think that’s a secret to anybody.
‘We have not been good enough as a team in previous years and that has to change.’
Edinburgh have never finished above eighth in the league since 2010. In seeking to ensure that abysmal record does not continue, Cockerill has been unforgiving during pre-season training.
Sportsmail has been told by some of the more experienced members of the squad that a training camp at St Andrews last week had been the most punishing they have ever faced.
There will be no let-up during the season. Indeed, being called in for training on a Sunday could become a regular occurrence.
‘They have to understand how a proper training week works and how hard you have to work,’ said Cockerill. ‘If we play Friday and then Friday again the following week, we will take Saturday as our day off and train Sundays.
‘Whenever game day is, we will work out the best training week and if that includes Sunday then it is a Sunday we will train.
‘I have a wife and three kids. I don’t really want to train on a Sunday but, if that is best for performances, then that is what we have to do.
‘They have to be on time and in the right kit, working hard. If they are not, I won’t be happy.’
Cockerill’s only high-profile signing so far has been Bath winger Robbie Fruean, with the vast majority of the squad the same men who finished a lowly ninth in the last campaign. The bright spot for Cockerill is that he expects Scotland centre Mark Bennett to be fit by the turn of year for both club and country after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
‘Mark Bennett will hopefully be back by the end of the year, which is terrific news,’ he said. ‘When fit, he is a very good player.
‘We also have to get the best out of scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne. Two years ago, he was the great hope for Scottish rugby and has dropped away from that.
‘We can also get more out of Duncan Weir. Is he Finn Russell? No, but if you look in world rugby there aren’t many tens who can do what Finn Russell can do.
‘The winger Duhan van der Merwe will surprise a few people. I think Darcy Graham has a huge future ahead of him. Hamish Watson is outstanding and makes a big difference in the back row.
‘As things stand, I won’t be bringing any more players in, so I have to get the best out of those I have here.’