Alan Solomons will have the chance to complete his stated three-year plan for Edinburgh Rugby as the veteran South African coach agreed a 12-month extension to his contract.
The 64-year-old former Springbok assistant coach was close to completing his initial two-year deal with Edinburgh, having arrived at BT Murrayfield in 2013.
Edinburgh look likely for an eighth place finish in the Guinness PRO12 no better than last year and still some way short of their sixth place target set by SRU chief executive Mark Dodson – but a European Challenge Cup Final appearance, the first Scottish side to reach a European final, was a major positive.
Edinburgh are likely to finish at least ten points better than in Solomons’ first year, and with a winning record as well. There is still a chance they can gain entry into the European Rugby Champions Cup next year via a play-off by pulling themselves into seventh in the final round of group games on Saturday, when they host Leinster.
“The challenges we’ve faced as a squad this year have been enormous the injury count in the home game against Lyon being a case in point but on each occasion we have risen to the challenge,” said the coach, who always said he had a three-year plan to turn Edinburgh into a force.
“I feel we’re moving into the next phase of our development as a squad and that’s really exciting. I am absolutely focused on continuing this progress and realising the vision we had at the outset.”
Despite failing to gain outright qualification for the major European competition as hoped, there were enough positives out of Edinburgh this season to make Solomons’ retention a smart move, not least the abrupt departure of the club’s chief executive David Davies last week after rumours of behind-the-scenes clashes.
The head coach lost three of his key players Grant Gilchrist, Cornell du Preez and Matt Scott for much of the season. In that one game against Lyon in the Challenge Cup in October, Edinburgh lost six frontline players to injuries.
Although in his first year Solomons’ policy of bringing in foreign players in key positions rather than using young Scottish talent was heavily criticised, this year he brought on more native talent, although his hand has been somewhat forced by the injury problems.
Nevertheless young Scots such as Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Ben Toolis, Rory Sutherland and Hamish Watson have thrived in the first XV while imports like Mike Coman and Anton Bresler have proved to be key acquisitions for the club.
The head coach may be the veteran of the PRO12 and one of the oldest in European club rugby but he’s keen to keep going.
“I am in good health, I’ve always had a massive work ethic, I’m fit and there’s nobody I’ve come across that works harder than me,” he said.
“Some guys are old at 40. I’m not in the first flush of youth but I’m strong and I’m enjoying myself.
“If I didn’t get a boost from doing this and passionate about it, I wouldn’t do it. It’s the same passion I had when I started coaching.”