Edinburgh Rugby: Richard Cockerill awards new deal to Connor Boyle and urges him to learn from ‘world class’ team-mates

The 21-year-old made his senior debut this season and Cockerill believes he can flourish at the capital club alongside “world-class” back-row talents such as Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie.

It’s a tough breeding ground for Boyle but it’s a challenge he is relishing.

“Edinburgh Rugby’s back-row is probably up there with the most competitive positional groups in world rugby, so to get the chance to play is a real honour for me,” he said.

“Professional rugby is definitely a huge step up in all aspects of the game. I was unlucky this year to miss out on the majority of pre-season with a shin injury, so I’m looking forward to seeing what I can achieve with a proper run of training and matches.”

The former Scotland Under-20 captain has played four Guinness Pro14 games after making his debut against Connacht.

A product of Stewart’s Melville College, he went on to join Watsonians and played for them in the FOSROC Super6.

Cockerill has been impressed by what he has seen of the openside.

“Connor has shown glimpses of real talent in limited games so far – he’s got that natural instinct around the breakdown that all quality back-row players seem to possess,” said the coach.

“He’s a hard-working, local lad that just wants to represent his hometown club, and for us as coaches, that’s exactly what you want to see in your players.

“We’re really excited to see Connor continue his development within a world-class positional group. We’ve got high hopes for him at Edinburgh Rugby.”

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