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'Game-changing project': Edinburgh complete new £5.7million stadium
Edinburgh boss Richard Cockerill believes their new stadium will allow them to build something special after construction work was completed. The £5.7million Edinburgh Rugby Stadium is adjacent to BT Murrayfield and has a capacity of about 7,800, including room for 2,000 safe-standing fans. All four stands are covered.
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Edinburgh have never had their own stadium since their formation as a professional club in 1996 and have usually used the 67,000-seat Murrayfield while also utilising Meggetland, the home of Boroughmuir. Cockerill’s squad will also be able to train on the artificial surface.
“As a club, as players, staff and fans we now have a home that together we can really build something special around,” said Cockerill, the Edinburgh head coach. “All of us are now in the privileged position to establish what this ground is going to mean to us and the outside world.
“I want it to be a welcoming place for fans but a cauldron for visiting teams and our supporters will very much be a part of that. It’s down to them to fill this place out with their family and friends and give the players the lift they need when the chips are down.
“One of the many things coronavirus has underscored to us all in sport is the hugely important role fans play in the home team’s performance. This was always a widely held view but now the difference is statistically proven by the change in away results in the absence of crowds in a number of sports.
It's been a journey… and now we're home.
????? Excited for that first match? pic.twitter.com/VwNOLcnRm6
— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) February 16, 2021
“Having capacity crowds so close to the pitch and players will allow our supporters to play an even greater part in giving us that all-important home advantage. We have done well to retain some of our best players and managed to bring in some quality too, so there should be lots to shout about from the stands when it is safe again to do so.
“Getting back into the stadium together will be a big, uniting moment for everyone, for a lot of reasons, and will hopefully help us continue to improve as a club on and off the pitch.”
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Scottish Rugby Union chief executive Mark Dodson described the new stadium as a “game-changing project” for both Edinburgh and Scottish rugby. “To finally deliver Edinburgh and its supporters a purpose-built stadium, at the home of Scottish rugby, is a fantastic achievement for all involved in the project after a nomadic existence that has spanned both the amateur and professional era for the side,” he said.
“Not only will the stadium provide the Edinburgh fans with a genuine home and a match-day atmosphere that will reflect their continued enthusiasm and support for the club, but the ground will also act as a hub for all rugby in the city. It will have a lasting legacy for the local community.”
“There are loads of these people with names like Gary126946432 on Twitter who think they have got the right opinion all the time, they just go out abusing people. It’s a red card…”
– @TheRugbyPod on the Fagerson sending off#SCOvWAL #SixNationshttps://t.co/SxJb1JwIhQ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 16, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments