MATT Scott will leave Edinburgh Rugby for Gloucester in the summer after agreeing what local reports called “a long-term deal” with the English club. The Cherry and Whites had been in talks for some time with Scott, who will join his Scotland team-mate Greig Laidlaw at Kingsholm.
“It’s the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make,” the 25-year-old centre said in a statement released by Edinburgh yesterday. “Rugby’s a short career and I’d always promised myself that at some point I’d like to play somewhere else, not just to develop me as a player but as a person, and I felt this was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time at Edinburgh. The last couple of years have been fantastic, especially this year when we won both games in the 1872 Cup. The guys at the moment are such a tight-knit group it’s going to be extremely difficult to leave them, but that’s rugby, the lifelong friends you make
“I’m 100 per cent committed to the club for the rest of the season. I’d love to finish high up the league with Edinburgh - that would be a great way to end my time here.”
The loss of their most able and experienced back will undoubtedly be a blow to Edinburgh, but given they originally had more than 30 players coming out of contract in the summer, if Scott is the only significant departure they will consider themselves to have emerged well from a tricky period of multi-party negotiations. They have already re-signed internationals such as Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Stuart McInally and Alasdair Dickinson, and more will follow over the next few weeks.
Edinburgh’s back division will have to grow in stature to compensate for Scott’s departure, but there were at least signs in their 23-0 Challenge Cup win over Agen on Friday night that they are starting to do so - even if the team’s greatest strength remains up front. “Our backs are getting better and better, we’re scoring more tries, but our main pillars are the set-piece and [being] good in D,” Hamish Watson, the openside flanker, said after a result that temporarily took his team to the top of Pool 5.
The Edinburgh pack misfired at times in the first half but grew in strength as the match wore on, and their dominance was confirmed five minutes from time when Watson grabbed the fourth try and the accompanying bonus point at the end of a dynamic forward drive. With the top three runners-up going through to the quarter-finals as well as the pool winners, that bonus point could yet prove crucial, provided they get a result in Grenoble on Saturday.
Given Dickinson, Ross Ford, WP Nel and John Hardie were all rested as well as Scott, it was an impressive showing against Agen, one in which Watson was outstanding. The back-row forward was named man of the match on his return from a four-week injury lay-off, but he believes he will have to play a few more games before having a hope of a Scotland recall. Vern Cotter, the national coach, will name his training squad for the Six Nations Championship on Tuesday.
“It’s a bit of a long shot,” Watson added. “I haven’t played as much as I’d have liked, and I’ve been injured the last four weeks, so it’s going to be tough to get in that squad. I’m just concentrating on Edinburgh stuff [for] now.”
Cotter selected a 32-man squad this time last year, including the then-uncapped Edinburgh quartet of Watson, Hidalgo-Clyne, Ben Toolis and Hugh Blake, who is now with Glasgow. He is expected to go with a similar format this time round, selecting mainly from his Rugby World Cup squad then adding a couple of untried hopefuls.
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