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Edinburgh statement: Ben Vellacott contract extension

By PA
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ben Vellacott is excited by the direction in which Edinburgh are heading after the scrum-half signed a new multi-year deal with the URC club. The 27-year-old has made a positive impact in the Scottish capital since moving to DAM Health Stadium from Wasps 18 months ago and was rewarded with his first Scotland cap earlier this year.

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Vellacott is looking forward to enjoying more positive moments after committing his future to Edinburgh ahead of Friday’s 1872 Cup showdown away to Glasgow. “It was a really easy decision for me,” Vellacott told the Edinburgh website after signing his new deal.

“I’m loving the direction the club is going in and the ambition the club has for the future. But, most of all, I’m loving playing footy with my best mates. Edinburgh is a very cool place with so much to do and to be able to experience it with my fiancee is really special.

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“We have a list of places we want to visit or eat out at which is good fun ticking off, while we are getting married up here in summer 2024 and we’re both really excited.

“Being able to play the sport I love in so many different countries has been brilliant – I’m very grateful to have that opportunity with Edinburgh Rugby moving forward. I just want to help the club perform to its highest potential and compete with the very best in Europe.”

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Edinburgh head coach Mike Blair described Vellacott as a model professional. “The way he carries himself in both sessions and matches, takes on extra training or analysis, or the way he shares advice to younger players are all positive behaviours that have made him a real leader in our squad,” said Blair.

“He is a really dangerous attacking player who brings an added spark to everything we do going forward. He is also a hugely popular member of the playing squad and someone that brings an energy to training every single day. Long may that continue.”

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Blair is relishing the prospect of trying to lead Edinburgh to a first away win over Glasgow since 2018. “I love it, you can see a buzz and energy around training,” he said when asked about derby week. “Glasgow have a great home record.

“We have talked about not having won there since 2018 and that’s a great challenge for us that we want to take on. We obviously want to quieten the crowd and impose our game. These derby games are always hard to call.”

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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