D'arcy Rae: 'It was a bit of a mixed-up situation at Bath'

Edinburgh prop D’arcy Rae has set his sights on further Scotland recognition after fully committing to the “dark side” and signing a new two-year contract.

The 30-year-old tighthead, born and bred in coastal Ayrshire south-west of Glasgow, admits he struggled last season after joining the capital outfit during the Rugby World Cup in October 2023.

Following an abrupt end to a successful two-year spell at Bath, Rae had a short stint as a medical ‘joker’ at Montpellier before arriving in Edinburgh.

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But commuting daily from his home in Glasgow, where he previously spent eight years with Warriors, took its toll and he only managed five replacement appearances, with fellow Scotland tightheads WP Nel and Javan Sebastian the favoured options.

But Nel’s retirement and a pre-season injury which ruled Sebastian out of the first half of the campaign presented Rae with a window of opportunity alongside new signing Paul Hill, the former England prop.

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He has featured in 10 of Edinburgh’s 11 games so far this season, starting four including both URC derbies against his old club Glasgow over the festive period. After a testing 18 months, greater stability off the field has resulted in more consistency on it.

“It was a bit of a mixed-up situation at Bath,” he recalled. “It came to the last week or two of the season and they said they couldn’t keep me. But let bygones be bygones.

“That’s how I ended up going to Montpellier as a medical joker but then Edinburgh came in halfway through my period over there. The World Cup was on, the league was closed, and I was like ‘Right, what am I doing?’ I was coming and going.

“And then I came back and ended up staying in Glasgow and commuting through, so I didn’t really commit to the club [Edinburgh] and the city as much. Maybe that affected me a bit, mentally, playing for the dark side, coming from the west coast and all that.

“That was probably it. But this year, from pre-season I came in with a different mindset and just went ‘Right, go for it’.
“I just changed the situation I was in. I needed to actually buy into this place and not just be like a guy floating in and out. So I did that, and I think it’s helped me.”

Last season Rae was hanging out with old Warriors pals such as prop Jamie Bhatti during his time off – “going for coffee or taking the dogs out, all that kind of stuff.”

But moving east across the M8 – even though Rae admits he still has “no clue about Edinburgh at all” and relies on Google Maps for getting around the capital – has seen the durable prop hitting new heights of fitness and conditioning.

“Some things I’m doing better than I’ve ever done and I’m thinking, ‘how am I am managing that?’” he said. “But I guess maybe not driving two hours every day back and forth is probably helping the old back. I know heated seats help, but I guess they don’t help everything.”

His reward was a second Scotland cap, off the bench in their first autumn Test against Fiji, five years after his debut in the 2019 Six Nations against Ireland.

Rae also started the Scotland ‘A’ game against Chile later in November and is evidently keen to remain in Gregor Townsend’s plans as the Scotland head coach prepares to name his Six Nations squad next week.

“Of course. It’s always a massive focus to play for your country, isn’t it?” said the Irvine-born prop, who has an Irish mother – D’arcy is a family name – and a Dutch father.

“I had my first taste in 2019, and then my next taste five years later. I’ve had good conversations with the coaching staff, so hopefully…I just need to ply my trade, show what I can do again and just keep going. I’m a grafter so that’s what I do, just graft away.”

Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt believes that with the tighthead’s future secured for the next two seasons, Rae can earn further international recognition in a position where Scotland have struggled for top-class back-up for first-choice Zander Fagerson.

“I’m so pleased for D’arcy,” he said. “He came back to us from Montpellier and was probably a little bit disappointed that he had left there. He was travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh to training and that was a bit tough for him.

“Maybe he didn’t have the best of seasons that he would have hoped for in 2023-24 but he put his hand up in pre-season, trained incredibly hard, got a reward for it and earned a call-up to the national team.

“That was a reward for all the hard work he’s put in. We’re just pleased we can have a guy like that, that’s reaching his potential now, signing for us for another two years. The world’s his oyster. If he continues to work hard, he might get more games for Scotland.

“It’s a position that Scotland are in need of. He’s an important part of our club and certainly an important part of Scottish rugby.”