Alan Solomons, the Edinburgh head coach, hailed as "incredibly good news" a decision by Matt Scott to sign a new contract that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2016.

The centre joined Edinburgh's elite development programme in 2011 and quickly established himself as one of the Murrayfield side's top performers, going on to win 19 Scotland caps to date after making his international debut against Ireland during the 2012 RBS 6 Nations.

Scott joins David Denton, Alasdair Dickinson and Greig Tonks in signing an extended contact at Edinburgh, although Grieg Laidlaw, the captain, is off to Gloucester in the summer.

Solomons expressed his delight in securing the services of one the most highly-rated talents in the Scottish game. The South African said: "Matt is an outstanding young talent who has now established himself at international level.

" This is incredibly good news for us. It's great to have a Scottish player of that calibre commit himself to the future of this club. Matt is an exceptional athlete. He is a physical and powerful player who runs good lines and presents a real threat to the opposition.

"The time is probably right for him to play a greater role in the broad leadership group within the club and I think he will have much to offer in that regard, particularly for young aspiring Scottish players."

Scott, who will add to his cap tally against France at Murrayfield on Saturday, said: "I'm delighted to commit my future to Edinburgh at a key time in my career, and at a club where a number of other senior Scotland internationalists have also signed on.

"I've made lifelong friends at the club over the past few years and it's good that we're keeping a good core of guys who know how much it means to play for Edinburgh. That was key for me and I'm happy to be one of those guys and be part of building the club going forward."