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Ford among seven players to leave Edinburgh

By Online Editors
Former Scotland captain Ross Ford. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images).

Edinburgh Rugby have today confirmed that seven members of the squad will leave the club at the end of the 2018/19 season.

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Scotland’s most capped player, Ross Ford – who has so far made 197 appearance for the capital side – leads the list following an 11-year career at the club.

Fellow internationalist and club centurion Tom Brown – who made his Edinburgh debut in 2010 and has since made 118 appearances – will also move on at the end of the current campaign.

Joining the pair in departing are scrum-half Sean Kennedy – an Edinburgh player since 2011, with 66 appearances to his name – and Scotland back-row Luke Hamilton.

With their departures already confirmed, scrum-half Nathan Fowles – who has made 71 appearances in the capital since joining the club in 2015 – will join Ealing at the end of the season, while back-row Senitiki Nayalo departs for Coventry.

Also included is Scotland international prop, Allan Dell, who’s departure to London Irish for the 2019/20 season was confirmed in January.

Head Coach Richard Cockerill, said: “We first and foremost want to thank all the departing players for their hard work, commitment and professionalism during their time at the club.

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“They all leave with our upmost respect and we wish them all the best in their future rugby endeavours.

“Fordy is, and will go down in history as, one of the great Edinburgh and Scotland players. He’s a credit to the game with his work ethic, both on and off the pitch, while his playing record speaks for itself. I’ve got no doubt that he will be a success in whatever he decides to do in the future.”

With 110 Test appearances for Scotland, three Rugby World Cups (2007, 2011, 2015) and a British & Irish Lions tour (2009) to his name, Ford will go down as one of Edinburgh and Scottish rugby’s most decorated players.

The hooker joined Edinburgh from Border Reivers in 2007 and soon cemented himself as one of the northern hemisphere’s best.

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The Kelso RFC product – who was a key man in the Edinburgh side that reached the Heineken Champions Cup Semi-Final in 2012 – became only the third player to reach 100 Scotland appearances in 2016, before becoming the national side’s most capped player of all time (110 Test appearances) in June 2017.

In a try-scoring cameo against Leinster last month, Ford surpassed Matthew Rees in becoming the second most capped player in the Guinness PRO14 with 203 total league appearances.
Edinburgh Leavers 2018/19

Ross Ford – 1 British & Irish Lions appearance; 110 Scotland caps; 197 Edinburgh appearances; 12 tries

Tom Brown – 1 Scotland cap; 118 Edinburgh appearances; 20 tries

Sean Kennedy – 66 Edinburgh appearances; 3 tries

Nathan Fowles – 71 Edinburgh appearances; 48 points

Allan Dell – 22 Scotland caps; 59 Edinburgh appearances; 3 tries

Luke Hamilton – 3 Scotland caps; 13 Edinburgh appearances

Senitiki Nayalo – 3 Edinburgh appearances

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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