SCOTLAND assistant coach Matt Taylor has welcomed the appointment of Richard Cockerill to take charge of Edinburgh next season - while insisting that Duncan Hodge still has a lot to offer the capital club.
Cockerill, who was sacked as Leicester Tigers’ director of rugby at the start of the year and has since been working as a consultant coach with Toulon, has signed a two-year deal with Edinburgh. Hodge, who has been acting head coach since Alan Solomons left in September, will revert to being an assistant alongside Stevie Scott and Pete Wilkins.
“Hodgy has done a great job leading the team,” Taylor said. “It’s great that Richard Cockerill has been brought in in the sense that he’s a really experienced coach who has won at the highest level.
“I’m sure both him and Hodgy will be a good mix. Hodgy’s done a good job - I know how hard he’s worked, because I know him personally. I’ve worked with him.
“The SRU has decided to bring in an experienced coach, and I think those two guys working together is going to be a really good thing for Edinburgh. And hopefully it will strengthen the Scotland team by Edinburgh doing well.”
Meanwhile, after a week which saw them lose Greig Laidlaw and Josh Strauss for the rest of the Six Nations Championship, Scotland’s injury list is clearing up. The squad to play Wales on Saturday all reported for duty yesterday, with the main concerns being winger Sean Maitland and centre Mark Bennett, who had a rib injury and a head knock respectively at the weekend.
“They’ve all come into training today and they are being looked at by the medical staff,” Taylor added. “Mark Bennett and Sean Maitland haven’t trained today, but we hope they will be right tomorrow.”
John Barclay, Ryan Wilson and John Hardie have all been passed fit, with the first two likely to start at Murrayfield. Barclay is favourite to be named as captain ahead of Jonny Gray when the team is announced on Thursday, having taken over from Laidlaw after the latter was injured during the defeat by France nine days ago.
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