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==Heineken Cup 2008/2009==
==Heineken Cup 2008/2009==


Edinburgh were drawn in Pool 2 along with fellow [[Celtic League (rugby union)|Celtic League]] side [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]], [[Top 14|French]] side [[Castres Olympique]] and [[Guinness Premiership|English]] side [[London Wasps]]. Leinster currently top the pool with a maximum 10 points so far.
Edinburgh were drawn in Pool 2 along with fellow [[Celtic League (rugby union)|Celtic League]] side [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]], [[Top 14|French]] side [[Castres Olympique]] and [[Guinness Premiership|English]] champions [[London Wasps]]. Leinster currently top the pool with a maximum 10 points so far.


===Results===
===Results===

Revision as of 12:29, 20 November 2008

Edinburgh Rugby
File:Edinburgh Rugby Badge.gif
Full nameEdinburgh Rugby
Nickname(s)Gunners
Founded1996[1]
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland
Ground(s)Murrayfield Stadium [2] (Capacity: 12,464 [3])
ChairmanScotland Gavin Hastings
CEOEngland Nic Cartwright
Coach(es)England Andy Robinson
League(s)Magners League
2007/084th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.edinburghrugby.org

Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland competing in the Celtic League along with Glasgow Warriors, their oldest rivals. Edinburgh currently play their home games at Murrayfield Stadium, although the stadium has been rebranded "Murrayfield Castle" (shortened to "The Castle") for Edinburgh matches since the 2007/08 season[4].

The original Edinburgh district team played the first ever inter-district match against Glasgow in 1872, winning the match 3-0.[5][6]The team were reformed in 1996 to compete in the Heineken Cup, their best performance coming in the 2003/04 tournament where they became the first Scottish side to reach the quarter-finals.[7][8][9]

History

Edinburgh District played in the world's first ever inter-district match against Glasgow in 1872.[5] [6]

Professional Era changes & Establishment: 1996

With the game turning professional in 1995 the Scottish Rugby Union did not believe that Scottish club sides could compete against the best teams from France and England. They therefore decided that the four district teams were to be Scotland's vehicle for professional rugby and in 1996 the Edinburgh District team was reformed as Edinburgh Rugby to compete in the Heineken Cup. Due to the SRU's high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield Stadium, retrenchment was called for and the 4 professional sides were reduced to 2. After two seasons, Edinburgh were merged with the Border Reivers to form a team known as Edinburgh Reivers.

For the 1999 and 2000 seasons the Scottish Rugby Union and Welsh Rugby Union joined forces, with the expansion of the Welsh Premier Division to include Edinburgh Reivers and Glasgow Caledonians under the name Welsh-Scottish League. However further change was imminent and in 2001 an agreement was made between the Irish Rugby Football Union, Scottish Rugby Union and Welsh Rugby Union to create a new competition which would bring in the four Irish provinces. 2001 would see the very first incarnation of the Celtic League. In that inaugural season Edinburgh achieved the highest finish by a Scottish side in the competition, finishing sixth.

The following season, to coincide with the re-establishment of the Border Reivers, a Scottish League competition modelled on the Tri-Nations was introduced alongside the Celtic League, however this only survived for one season, Edinburgh becoming the only champions.

Following the reduction of Scotland's professional structure to two sides a rebranding took place. Edinburgh Reivers were simply titled 'Edinburgh Rugby' with the Glasgow Caledonians undergoing a similar renaming process as part of a "major revamp"[10] of the professional structure in Scotland.

In the 2003/2004 season the team found some success as they reached the inaugural Celtic Cup final - beating Cardiff Blues and Connacht en route in the quarter-finals[11] and semi-finals[12] respectively. The team's good run came to an end in final, however, with 21-27 loss to Ulster at Murrayfield. David Humphreys kicked 17 points in the match to earn the Irish province the trophy[13]

For the 2005/2006 season, Edinburgh found themselves looking for a new coach following the departure of Frank Hadden to coach Scotland.[14] Sean Lineen, then Glasgow Warriors assistant coach, was linked with the post[15] before Todd Blackadder acquired the position for the season[16] after a spell as interim coach[17].During the same season the team nickname was incorporated into the official name, making them the Edinburgh Gunners. The term Gunners was dropped on 29 September 2006, after the club had become Scottish rugby's first private franchise during the summer, and the team reverted back to being known as just Edinburgh Rugby. One of the reasons for this reversion being that the word Gunners was already a registered Trademark of Arsenal Football Club[6]. Another being that the new owners wanted to rebrand the team in order to help provide a fresh new look, and to further aid this a new club logo was also introduced.

Private Ownership: 2006-2007

File:Edinburgh rugby badge.png
Logo for 2006-07 Magners League season

Scotland's first private franchise: 2006

In 2006, it was announced that from the end of the 2005/6 season, Edinburgh would become a franchise. Finance was to come from a private company headed by businessmen Alex and Bob Carruthers[18]. This was thought to be a saving grace for Border Reivers. The team were thought to be favourites to be scrapped after the Scottish Rugby Union had warned that funding problems could force it to scrap one of its Celtic League sides[19]. The SRU were to retain a seat on the new company board and continue to provide funding and support to the new owners in development[18]. Following the departure of Todd Blackadder to join the Crusaders coaching setup in the Super 14 Lynn Howells was appointed as head coach by new executive chairman Alex Carruthers[20].

Funding dispute & return to SRU: 2007

In July 2007, a dispute arose between the Scottish Rugby Union and the owners of the newly-franchised Edinburgh team. According to owner Bob Carruthers the SRU owed Edinburgh a six-figure sum which had not been paid. Carruthers also claimed that SRU had threatened to pull the plug on funding should Edinburgh continue with legal action relating to the sum.[21] In the midst of the dispute Alex Carruthers resigned along with then Managing Director Graeme Stirling[22]. The dispute caused much disruption in Scottish rugby at the time, leading to the temporary withdrawal of 12 players from the Scotland squad training for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. This included leading players such as Chris Paterson and Mike Blair[22]

The dispute escalated when on July 9th, 2007 Edinburgh revoked their associate membership of the SRU[23]. This led to doubts over whether Edinburgh could fulfill fixtures in the Magners League and Heineken Cup and whether Edinburgh players were insured for playing at club level. The resignation was withdrawn on July 12th, with Bob Carruthers asking to "talk directly to someone" and insisting the proposed signing of Australia stand-off Stephen Larkham would go ahead[24]. Despite this, the dispute continued, with both sides initiating legal action against the other[25][26]. The situation was resolved in August 2007 with the termination of the franchise agreement and the return of Edinburgh to the direct control of the SRU[27].

Under Andy Robinson: 2007 to present

Edinburgh playing against Munster at Murrayfield Stadium in the 2007-08 Magners League

Following the return to SRU control the club coach Lynn Howells was dismissed. SRU head of player development was appointed interim coach and Nic Cartwright appointed Chief Executive.[27] Former British and Irish Lions captain Gavin Hastings was subsequently appointed Chairman[28] stating his "desire and passion to see this game and this club grow". The proposed signing of Stephen Larkham fell through after the SRU were unable to honour the terms of the agreement.[29]This was viewed as a disappointment at the time as the signing was considered a coup for the beleaguered SRU when the signing was initially announced.[30].

Following an application process[31] it was announced on October 1st, 2007 that Andy Robinson, the former England head coach, would become the club's new head coach.[32] Edinburgh showed progress under Robinson, performing well at home in the Heineken Cup posting wins against Leinster[33] and Leicester Tigers[34] and a narrow loss to Toulouse, earning a bonus point.[35] Following disappointing performances by Scotland in the 6 Nations, and Robinson co-coaching Scotland A[36], there were rumours of Robinson taking a post within the Scotland set-up after helping Edinburgh to climb to 3rd in the Magners League. [37][38] This progress, however, was counter-pointed by some disappointing results including being shutout by Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield [39] and losing the 1872 Challenge Cup on aggregate to rivals Glasgow Warriors. [40]

Players & Coaches of note

Current squad

Squad list taken from official club site[41] (registration required). Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Sean Crombie Hooker Scotland Scotland
Ross Ford Hooker Scotland Scotland
Andrew Kelly Hooker Scotland Scotland
Steven Lawrie Hooker Scotland Scotland
Geoff Cross Prop Scotland Scotland
Ryan Grant Prop Scotland Scotland
Allan Jacobsen Prop Scotland Scotland
Gavin Kerr Prop Scotland Scotland
Bruce McNeil Prop Scotland Scotland
Kyle Traynor Prop Scotland Scotland
Ben Gissing Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Craig Hamilton Lock Scotland Scotland
James Hamilton Lock Scotland Scotland
Matt Mustchin Lock Scotland Scotland
Steve Turnbull Lock Scotland Scotland
Simon Cross Flanker Scotland Scotland
Alan MacDonald Flanker Scotland Scotland
Fraser McKenzie Flanker Scotland Scotland
Scott Newlands Flanker Scotland Scotland
Player Position Union
Dave Callam Number 8 Scotland Scotland
Allister Hogg Number 8 Scotland Scotland
Mike Blair Scrum-half Scotland Scotland (c)
Greig Laidlaw Scrum-half Scotland Scotland
Ben Meyer Scrum-half New Zealand New Zealand
David Blair Fly-half Scotland Scotland
Phil Godman Fly-half Scotland Scotland
Chris Paterson Fly-half Scotland Scotland
Ben Cairns Centre Scotland Scotland
Nick De Luca Centre Scotland Scotland
Andrew Easson Centre Scotland Scotland
John Houston Centre Scotland Scotland
Mark Robertson Wing Scotland Scotland
Mark Teague Wing Scotland Scotland
Andrew Turnbull Wing Scotland Scotland
Simon Webster Wing Scotland Scotland
Calum MacRae Fullback Scotland Scotland
Hugo Southwell Fullback Scotland Scotland
James Thompson Fullback Scotland Scotland

Notable Former Players

Coaches

Magners League 2008/2009

Results

Date Home Team Score Away Team Score Venue Match Report
Sep 5, 2008 Edinburgh 15 Munster 20 Murrayfield [1]
Sep 12, 2008 Leinster 52 Edinburgh 6 Royal Dublin Society [2]
Sep 19, 2008 Edinburgh 32 Scarlets 12 Murrayfield [3]
Sep 26 2008 Newport Gwent Dragons 11 Edinburgh 9 Rodney Parade [4]
Oct 3 2008 Ulster 13 Edinburgh 9 Ravenhill [5]
Oct 24, 2008 Connacht 14 Edinburgh 27 Galway Sportsground [6]
Nov 28 2008 Edinburgh Ospreys Murrayfield
Dec 26, 2008 Edinburgh Glasgow Warriors Murrayfield
Jan 2, 2009 Glasgow Warriors Edinburgh Firhill Arena
Jan 9, 2009 Edinburgh Ulster Murrayfield
Feb 20, 2009* Munster Edinburgh Musgrave Park
Mar 6, 2009* Scarlets Edinburgh Parc y Scarlets
Mar 27, 2009* Edinburgh Connacht Murrayfield
Apr 3, 2009* Edinburgh Cardiff Blues Murrayfield
Apr 17, 2009* Edinburgh Leinster Murrayfield
Apr 24, 2009* Ospreys Edinburgh Liberty Stadium
May 8, 2009* Edinburgh Newport Gwent Dragons Murrayfield
May 15, 2009* Cardiff Blues Edinburgh Cardiff Arms Park


Dates marked * to be confirmed.

Final Table

Pos Team P W L D F A Diff T B Pts
1 Ospreys 20 14 6 0 461 374 87 49 8 64
2 Cardiff Blues 20 13 6 1 447 327 120 53 9 63
3 Leinster 20 12 7 1 472 376 96 53 11 61
4 Llanelli Scarlets 20 12 8 0 490 417 73 61 9 57
5 Ulster 20 11 8 1 423 310 113 45 9 55
6 Munster 20 12 8 0 379 294 85 37 6 54
7 Glasgow Warriors 20 11 9 0 434 419 15 42 5 49
8 Edinburgh 20 8 11 1 335 423 -88 31 8 42
9 Newport Gwent Dragons 20 8 12 0 353 362 -9 36 7 39
10 Connacht 20 4 14 2 326 474 -148 29 6 26
11 Border Reivers 20 2 18 0 201 545 -344 16 4 12

Heineken Cup 2008/2009

Edinburgh were drawn in Pool 2 along with fellow Celtic League side Leinster, French side Castres Olympique and English champions London Wasps. Leinster currently top the pool with a maximum 10 points so far.

Results

Date Home Team Score Away Team Score Venue Match Report
Oct 11, 2008 Edinburgh 16 Leinster 27 Murrayfield [7]
Oct 18, 2008 Castres Olympique 6 Edinburgh 13 Stade Pierre-Antoine [8]
Dec 5, 2008 Edinburgh London Wasps Murrayfield
Dec 14, 2008 London Wasps Edinburgh Adams Park
Jan 16, 2009* Edinburgh Castres Olympique Murrayfield
Jan 23, 2009* Leinster Edinburgh Royal Dublin Society


Dates marked * to be confirmed.

Current Pool Table

Key to colours
     Winner of each pool, plus two highest-ranked second-place teams,
advance to quarterfinals
Team Pld W L D TF PF PA +/- BP Pts
Leinster 2 2 0 0 10 68 27 +41 2 10
London Wasps 2 1 1 0 4 36 52 -16 0 4
Edinburgh 2 1 1 0 2 29 33 -4 0 4
Castres Olympique 2 0 2 0 1 17 38 -21 1 1

Statistics

Heineken Cup

Season Pos Played Won Lost Drawn Source
1996/1997 Pools 4 0 4 0 [46]
1998/1999 Pools 6 2 3 1 [47]
1999/2000 Pools 6 3 3 0 [48]
2000/2001 Pools 6 3 2 1 [49]
2001/2002 Pools 6 1 4 1 [50]
2002/2003 Pools 6 2 4 0 [51]
2003/2004 QFs 7 5 2 0 [52]
2004/2005 Pools 6 1 5 0 [53]
2005/2006 Pools 6 2 4 0 [54]
2006/2007 Pools 6 1 5 0 [55]
2007/2008 Pools 6 2 4 0 [56]

European Challenge Cup

Season Pos Played Won Lost Drawn Source
1997/1998 Pools 6 2 4 0 [57]

Welsh/Scottish League

Season Pos Played Won Lost Drawn
1999/2000 8th 22 10 11 1
2000/2001 8th 22 11 11 0
2001/2002 6th 20 10 8 2

Celtic League

Season Pos Played Won Lost Drawn
2001/2002 Pools 6 2 4 0
2002/2003 QFs 8 6 2 0
2003/2004 10th 22 9 13 0
2004/2005 7th 20 9 11 0
2005/2006 5th 20 11 9 0
2006/2007 8th 20 8 11 1
2007/2008 4th 18 9 6 3

Scottish League

Season Pos Played Won Lost Drawn
2002/2003 1st 8 5 2 1

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ The original Edinburgh district side dates to 1872
  2. ^ The ground is nicknamed "The Castle" for Edinburgh matches
  3. ^ This is only true for Edinburgh matches where only the lower tier of West stand is open. The full capacity of Murrayfield is 68,500
  4. ^ Edinburgh Rugby - The Castle, http://www.edinburghrugby.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=24&Itemid=68, Retrieved: April 2, 2008
  5. ^ a b Edinburgh Rugby Club Facts - Visit Scotland, http://rugby.visitscotland.com/professional/edinburghfacts.aspx, Retrieved: April 6, 2008
  6. ^ a b c BBC Sport - Edinburgh drop Gunners from title, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/my_club/edinburgh/5392284.stm, Retrieved: April 6, 2008
  7. ^ http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/13_5538.php?section=4, Retrieved: April 6, 2008
  8. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Edinburgh 33-15 Ospreys
  9. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Edinburgh aim for European repeat
  10. ^ BBC SPORT | SCOTLAND | Scots drop 'Reivers' and 'Caledonians'
  11. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Edinburgh blast Blues aside
  12. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Edinburgh prove too good
  13. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Irish | Ulster hold on for victory
  14. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Internationals | Scotland appoint Hadden as coach
  15. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Lineen flattered by capital link
  16. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Blackadder to leave in the summer
  17. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | English | Hogg gets Gloucester coaching job
  18. ^ a b BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh to become a franchise
  19. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | No SRU axe as yet for the Borders
  20. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Edinburgh name Howells new coach
  21. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh face SRU closure threat
  22. ^ a b BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh chairman resigns in row
  23. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh resign from Scots Union
  24. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh rejoin Scottish Union
  25. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | SRU seeks legal advice on funding
  26. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Edinburgh dispute heads for court
  27. ^ a b BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Edinburgh back in union control
  28. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Hastings takes post at Edinburgh
  29. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Larkham's Edinburgh deal scrapped
  30. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Edinburgh clinch Larkham signing
  31. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Coach applications delight SRU
  32. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Robinson named coach of Edinburgh
  33. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Edinburgh 29-10 Leinster
  34. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Edinburgh 17-12 Leicester
  35. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Edinburgh 15-19 Toulouse
  36. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Club coaches to lead Scotland A
  37. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Robinson content with Edinburgh
  38. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Scottish | Edinburgh 35-31 Glasgow
  39. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Edinburgh | Edinburgh 0-20 Blues
  40. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | My Club | Glasgow | Glasgow 23-14 Edinburgh
  41. ^ Edinburgh Rugby
  42. ^ Lothian, Bill (22 July 2008) Pringle named captain as 'Muir prepare to defend title Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  43. ^ Reid, Alasdair (19 June 2008). Craig Smith Leaves Edinburgh For Fresh Start Telegraph. Retrieved on 27 August 2008.
  44. ^ Lothian, Bill (22 July 2008) Pringle named captain as 'Muir prepare to defend title Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  45. ^ Ferguson, David (14 April 2008) Warnock Looks To Head South The Scotsman. Retrieved on 27 August 2008.
  46. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 1996/7
  47. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 1998/9
  48. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 1999/2000
  49. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2000/1
  50. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2001/2
  51. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2002/3
  52. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2003/4
  53. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2004/5
  54. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2005/6
  55. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Heineken Cup 2006/7
  56. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | Cup Tables
  57. ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | European Club | European Challenge Cup 1997/8


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