ASSISTANT coach Duncan Hodge has left Edinburgh after a long spell as part of the backroom staff. A statement from the team said they had parted company with the former Scotland international “on amicable terms”.
Hodge leaves just weeks after Richard Cockerill was replaced as head coach by Mike Blair, who like his old Scotland team-mate specialises in the backs and attack.
“I feel extremely lucky to have worked with some world-class coaches, players, and teams, and thank them for their support over the years,” Hodge said. “Coaching at three Rugby World Cups, competing in PRO14 and Heineken Cup semi- and quarter-finals along with seeing so many Edinburgh players recently progress to Scotland honours has certainly given me plenty of fond memories to look back on.
“I look forward to using this experience as I move on to new opportunities in the next stage of my career. I would like to wish Mike and the rest of the team all the very best for the upcoming season and beyond.”
Blair, who still has defence Calum MacRae and forwards coach Stevie Lawrie to assist him, said: “Duncan deserves a lot of credit for his part in developing quality Edinburgh players for the club and the national team over the years. Everyone at the club thanks him and wishes him well.”
Now 46, Hodge made his name as a player with the winning drop goal for Scotland ‘A’ against their South African counterparts in 1994. Six years later he scored all the points in the full side’s 19-13 Calcutta Cup victory over England – a match in which Blair captained the winners. Part of the Edinburgh coaching team under several different head coaches, he was also acting head coach between the departure of Alan Solomons and the arrival of Cockerill in 2017.
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