Richard Cockerill agrees new two-year contract with Edinburgh

SRU chief Mark Dodson confirms Englishman’s future has been secured until 2023 after making huge progress in capital

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has agreed a two-year contract extension. Picture: SRU/SNS

Richard Cockerill will remain as Edinburgh head coach for another two years beyond next June, it has been confirmed by SRU chief executive Mark Dodson.

The 49-year-old former Leicester and England hooker, and Leicester and Toulon coach, has been a huge success in the Scottish capital since joining the underperforming pro team in 2017.

He has led the side to the Guinness Pro14 play-offs twice, with the latest a home semi-final against Ulster at BT Murrayfield a week on Saturday, the quarter-finals of both the European Challenge Cup and Heineken Champions Cup and three 1872 Cups.

Cockerill, like Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, was out of contract at the end of the coming 2020-21 season, and Dodson has been confident that both men can be kept in post.

The first of that double goal has been accomplished as Dodson told the BBC Scotland Rugby Podcast: “Despite interest from lots of other places, an agreement has been reached and I'm delighted he's staying.

"He's doing a fantastic job and he wants to make sure we take Edinburgh to the next level.

"We've got the exciting moment now with the new Edinburgh stadium to be commissioned at the end of the year and we've got this incredible group of players that he's brought through and developed into a really competitive team."

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