‘Edinburgh coach Cockerill will be good for whole of Scottish rugby’
Edinburgh’s appointment of former Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill as head coach for next season has been hailed as a move that will strengthen Scottish rugby.
The ex-england hooker will take up the post in the summer, with current acting head coach Duncan Hodge reverting to his old job as backs coach.
Cockerill led Leicester to three English Premiership titles during his tenure but was sacked at the beginning of the year and has subsequently been working in a consultancy role with French club Toulon.
Hodge took the reins when Alan Solomons departed following a poor start to the season and has led the club to the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup. However, form in the Guinness Pro12 has remained poor, with Friday’s heavy defeat
at Leinster leaving Edinburgh languishing in ninth place.
Scotland defence coach Matt Taylor yesterday praised the appointment of a man who also led the Tigers to the Heineken Cup final at Murrayfield in 2009. Taylor said: “Hodgey has done a great job but it’s great Richard has been brought in because he is a really experienced coach. I’m sure he and Hodgey together will be a good mix. The SRU has decided to bring in an experienced coach and his record in terms of doing well in Europe is exceptional. Hopefully, Edinburgh doing well will strengthen the Scotland team.”
Edinburgh’s other assistants Stevie Scott and Peter Wilkins will keep their posts in what will be a changed coaching landscape next season. Gregor Townsend is moving to Scotland from Glasgow, taking Taylor, who has been in a joint role, full-time and also forwards coach Dan Mcfarland. Dave Rennie, the highly-rated New Zealander, will replace Townsend at Scotstoun and be joined by Scotland attack coach Jason O’halloran and national pack chief Jonathan Humphreys.
Cockerill said: “I am very much looking forward to a new challenge and the opportunity at Edinburgh Rugby ticked all the boxes. It’s a real rugby city, and the club has a lot of potential to grow on, and off, the pitch. The conversations I had with Mark Dodson and Scott Johnson were instrumental in understanding what the vision for Edinburgh Rugby is and it is a project I’m excited to be a part of.”