WITH plans for a new home on the back pitches at BT Murrayfield still waiting for the final nod, Edinburgh have lost the services of the man who did most to drive them through.

Jon Petrie, the club's managing director, is leaving to become chief executive at Ulster, a role that offers more independence than his current one where working close to the SRU officials at Murrayfield can have its frustrations.

The former Scotland captain has been in charge at Edinburgh for three years, overseeing the transition on the coaching front from Alan Solomons to Richard Cockerill and the surge in playing fortunes that followed.

He was also instrumental in the experiment of playing home games at Myreside but, when it became obvious that was not working, he shifted the side back to Murrayfield and helped draw up the plans for "mini Murrayfield" on the back pitches.

It seemed he had got his way when planning permission was granted, but there has been a last-minute hiccup with a demand that the project should be sent back for debate by Edinburgh councillors.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed my time with Edinburgh and am grateful for the opportunities and challenges it has presented me with," he said in his resignation statement.

"I’d like to wish Richard Cockerill, the players and coaches the best of luck for the future and I’d also like to recognise the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to help move Edinburgh forward as a club, and to realise its potential within a great rugby city.

"I am enormously privileged to have been offered this role with Ulster Rugby and am looking forward to joining the club at such an interesting and exciting time for rugby at all levels across the Province.”

The search for a replacement will start immediately but could take several months as the SRU hunt for somebody with the clout to drive the club forward while not chafing too much at the restrictions imposed by the governing body.

In the meanwhile, the playing side continues with preparations for this weekend's game against the Scarlets dominating the agenda. Cockerill, the head coach, has to pick through the bare bones of a squad ravaged by injuries and international demands to pick a competitive team.

Second row is among the most difficult positions to fill with Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis off with Scotland while Fraser McKenzie and Lewis Carmichael are both injured. Both locks used last week were making their first starts while Callum Atkinson, who came off the bench, was making his first appearance.

Despite that, the pack stood up well, pointed out Callum Hunter-Hill, the former Scotland Under 20s captain who was most experienced of the trio having previously played three games as a replacement. "I think we went well as a forward pack, there is a lot of good stuff we can take towards this weekend," he said

"I thought we fronted up well. The young players did well and we put pressure on their scrum. All the stats were great, all the KPIs [key performance indicators] were great, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to the scoreline.

"We only missed 11 tackles, which is pretty good. They only made four line breaks, but they were all tries from individual errors.

"Obviously it would be a really proud moment for me if I make my home debut this week. We don’t know the team yet – we are still waiting on some Scotland guys coming back.

"I would love to play at home for Edinburgh because I haven’t done that yet. There are a lot of other guys who may be in the same boat so it could be a big night for us all."