Edinburgh Rugby tie up Scots-qualified trio

From the Scotsman

EDINBURGH have continued their policy of recruiting Scottish-qualified foreign players after announcing three new signings.

The Gunners have agreed deals for props Allan Dell and Simon Berghan and outside back Nick McLennan.

New Zealanders Berghan and McLennan will check in this summer, while South African Dell is due to arrive in Scotland within weeks and could feature for the Murrayfield outfit before the season is out.

All three have Scottish ancestry and Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons - who has already recruited heavily from the southern hemisphere - is confident the players will add to Scottish rugby.

He said: “Allan Dell is an outstanding talent. He is a good footballer, is very mobile, has good skills and a fantastic work rate.

“Simon Berghan is primarily a tighthead who has played for the Canterbury province in New Zealand’s rugby heartland. He’s a big strong boy who has every prospect of cutting it at a higher level.

“And Nick McLennan is a guy who has played a lot of ITM Cup rugby. He is a good footballer who is versatile, being equally at home at stand-off, full-back and wing.”

Berghan and McLennan will arrive in the summer on deals to 2015 and 2016 respectively, while Dell has penned a two-and-a-half year deal.

Dell, 21 - who qualifies for Scotland through his Paisley-born grandmother - said: “I’m really excited to get to Scotland and start the next chapter of my career.

“The whole opportunity is fantastic. Alan Solomons is an excellent coach so it’s great to get the chance to work under him, compete for the chance to play for the club and, longer-term, for the chance to represent Scotland.”

Berghan, 23, was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but has Scottish blood through his Stirling-born grandfather.

“I’m delighted to get an opportunity to prove myself at this level,” he said. “It’s a professional contract at a great club that I just couldn’t say no to. Everything I’ve heard about the club and city has been good so I can’t wait to get out there.”

McLennan, meanwhile, also qualifies for Scotland through his Scottish grandparents.

He said: “It’s really proud moment for me and my family given my heritage. Having strong links with Scotland definitely made the move even more appealing, while the competitions the club plays in are world-class. Being involved in that will be something special.”

I know England have pulled in a few players with residency and/or grandparent qualification (Waldrum ) but they're all already in the country and brought in by the clubs not the union.

I wonder what long term damage it may do with all the SQ foreign players being brought in by the SRU controlled domestic teams.

Personally, I have no problems with England playing anybody who is qualified, good enough and playing in England but if the RFU deliberately brought in EQ players from foriegn lands I would be a bit peed off. I wonder how Scottish fans feels?

Is it a case of better SQ foreigners than other foreigners as at least it maintains a Scottish feel even without them playing for Scotland. Or does is paper over weaknesses in the general domestic game?

HammerofThunor wrote:I know England have pulled in a few players with residency and/or grandparent qualification (Waldrum ) but they're all already in the country and brought in by the clubs not the union.

I wonder what long term damage it may do with all the SQ foreign players being brought in by the SRU controlled domestic teams.  

Personally, I have no problems with England playing anybody who is qualified, good enough and playing in England but if the RFU deliberately brought in EQ players from foriegn lands I would be a bit peed off. I wonder how Scottish fans feels?

Is it a case of better SQ foreigners than other foreigners as at least it maintains a Scottish feel even without them playing for Scotland. Or does is paper over weaknesses in the general domestic game?

Massively, I believe, Thunor. It's a fact that Scotland are simply not producing enough talent at youth level that can step up to the professional ranks and on to international level - does that indicate a dearth of talent in general or more worryingly that the structures are simply not in place for proper youth development? - it is the latter, I fear

sure. thats dodsons job. where are the statistics showing what the sru have actually achieved ?

we need at least double the playing numbers at school level and then another pro team, after thats achieved.

im all for scaling back all imports entirely who are not already or cant be sq. that has to be the starting point.