2013–14 Edinburgh Rugby season

The 2013–14 season was Edinburgh Rugby's thirteenth season competing in the Pro12.

Edinburgh 2013 / 2014

Ground(s)	Murrayfield Stadium, Meggetland
CEO	David Davies
Coach(es)	Alan Solomons
Captain(s)	Greig Laidlaw
Most caps	WP Nel (28)
Top scorer	Greig Laidlaw (129)
Most tries	Cornell du Preez (7)
League(s)	Pro12
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2012–13 2014–15 →

Team

Coaches

Alan Solomons, formerly of Western Province, Stormers, Ulster and more recently Super 15 team the Kings was appointed as Head Coach at the end of July '13. ^[1] Stevie Scott, Philippe Doussy and Omar Mouneimne were appointed as Assistant Coaches.

Squad

Hookers Ross Ford James Hilterbrand* Steven Lawrie Stuart McInally Aleki Lutui Alun Walker Props Wicus Blaauw Simon Berghan* Geoff Cross Alasdair Dickinson Robin Hislop WP Nel Lewis Niven Locks Oliver Atkins Grant Gilchrist Rob McAlpine Perry Parker Izak van der Westhuizen

Loose forwards Dimitri Basilaia Mike Coman Sean Cox David Denton Cornell du Preez Roddy Grant Tomás Leonardi Ross Rennie Half backs Alex Black Carl Bezuidenhout Piers Francis Grayson Hart Sam Hidalgo-Clyne Sean Kennedy Greig Laidlaw (C) Chris Leck Harry Leonard

Centres Ben Atiga Sam Beard Nick De Luca Joaquín Domínguez Matt Scott Andries Strauss Back Three Tom Brown Jack Cuthbert Dougie Fife Lee Jones Greig Tonks Tim Visser Nikki Walker

• *Scottish qualified

Elite Development Players

• Alex Allan - Prop
• Chris Auld - Centre
• Magnus Bradbury - Back row
• Philip Cringle - Prop
• Bruce Dick - Centre
• Jamie Farndale - Wing
• Neil Irvine-Hess - Lock/Back row
• Ewan McQuillin - Prop
• / Alex Toolis - Lock
• / Ben Toolis - Lock
• George Turner - Hooker
• Hamish Watson - Back row

Transfers

Players In

• Nikki Walker from Worcester Warriors
• Jack Cuthbert from Bath Rugby
• Aleki Lutui from Worcester Warriors
• Alasdair Dickinson from Sale Sharks
• Grayson Hart from NSW Waratahs
• Oliver Atkins from NSW Waratahs
• Wicus Blaauw from Biarritz
• James Hilterbrand from Western Force
• Michael Tait from Newcastle Falcons (Month loan from Falcons)
• Joaquín Domínguez from San Isidro Club
• Cornell du Preez from the Eastern Province Kings / Southern Kings
• Tomás Leonardi from Southern Kings
• Mike Coman from Hawke's Bay / Huricannes
• Sam Beard from Bay of Plenty
• Tony Fenner from Viadana (Loan)
• Carl Bezuidenhout from Pumas
• Andries Strauss from the Eastern Province Kings / Southern Kings
• / Simon Berghan from Sydenham RFC ^[2]

Players Out

• Lee Jones to Scotland 7s (loan until the end of the season)
• Richie Rees to Newport Gwent Dragons ^[3]
• Netani Talei to Newport Gwent Dragons
• Sep Visser released
• Mike Penn to Moseley
• Andy Titterrell to London Welsh
• Allan Jacobsen retired ^[4]
• James King retired
• Steven Turnbull retired
• John Yapp to London Irish ^[5]
• Alun Walker to Nottingham RFC (loan until the end of the season) ^[6]
• Robin Hislop to Rotherham R.U.F.C. (loan until the end of the season) ^[6]
• Stuart McInally to Bristol RFC (loan until the end of the season) ^[7]
• Ross Rennie to Bristol RFC (loan until the end of the season) ^[7]
• Perry Parker to Ospreys (loan until the end of the season) ^[8]
• Lee Jones to Glasgow Warriors (loan until the end of the season)
• Sean Kennedy to London Irish (month loan) ^[9]
• Geoff Cross to Glasgow Warriors ^[10] (loan until the end of the season)

Sponsorship

This year saw the shirts branded with BT Sport on four-year sponsorship and continuing relationship with sportswear company Macron. The BT Sports deals was seen as way to circumvent Sky Sports’ ban on carrying adverts for its new sports channels after agreeing a sponsorship deal under which its logo will be emblazoned all over BSkyB's Scottish rugby coverage. ^[11]

• BT Sport
• Mitsubishi Cars

Competitions

Pro12

League table

Pro12 Table watch · edit · discuss
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Leinster (CH)	22	17	1	4	554	352	+202	57	30	8	4	82
2	Glasgow Warriors (RU)	22	18	0	4	484	309	+175	53	22	4	3	79
3	Munster (SF)	22	16	0	6	538	339	+199	56	27	7	3	74
4	Ulster (SF)	22	15	0	7	470	319	+151	45	26	6	4	70
5	Ospreys	22	13	1	8	571	388	+183	59	32	6	6	66
6	Scarlets	22	11	1	10	435	438	−3	43	45	3	6	55
7	Cardiff Blues	22	8	1	13	425	538	−113	32	55	1	6	41
8	Edinburgh	22	7	0	15	397	526	−129	38	57	2	8	38
9	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	7	1	14	392	492	−100	34	46	0	5	35
10	Connacht	22	6	0	16	371	509	−138	42	54	4	7	35
11	Benetton Treviso	22	5	1	16	376	591	−215	31	72	1	7	30
12	Zebre	22	5	2	15	347	559	−212	35	59	0	5	29
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: [12] number of matches won; the difference between points for and points against; the number of tries scored; the most points scored; the difference between tries for and tries against; the fewest red cards received; the fewest yellow cards received.
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places, and earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places, that earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup. European Rugby Champions/Challenge Cup qualification: The top team from each country, plus the three highest-placed teams apart from those, will qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup. The remaining teams qualify for the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Updated 19 May 2014. Source: RaboDirect PRO12

Results

Round 1

7 September 2013 19:15

(1 BP) Munster	34–23	Edinburgh
Try: Hurley 13' m Coughlan 15' c Cronin 32' c Dineen 53' m Hanrahan 68' c Con: Keatley (2/4) Hanrahan (1/1) Pen: Keatley (1/2) 22'	Report	Try: De Luca 50' c Jones 70' c Con: Francis (1/1) Leonard (1/1) Pen: Francis (2/4) 11', 26' Leonard (1/1) 62'

Musgrave Park Attendance: 6,810 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 2

13 September 2013 19:45

Edinburgh	16–13	Newport Gwent Dragons (1 BP)
Try: T. Visser 47' c Con: Leonard (1/1) Pen: Leonard (3/4) 5', 20', 80'	Report	Try: Rees 53' c Con: Tovey (1/1) Pen: Tovey (1/2) 3' Burton (1/1) 75'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,692 Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)

Round 3

21 September 2013 18:30

(1 BP) Ospreys	44–10	Edinburgh
Try: Hassler 3' c Walker (2) 38' m, 55' c Hibbard (2) 42' m, 53' c Morgan 77' c Con: Biggar (3/5) Morgan (1/1) Pen: Biggar (2/2) 16', 19'	Report	Try: T. Visser 45' c Con: Leonard (1/1) Pen: Leonard (1/1) 32'

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 8,356 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 4

27 September 2013 19:45

Edinburgh	9–22	Scarlets
Pen: Leonard (3/3) 29', 40', 42'	Report	Try: Reynolds 35' c J. Williams 46' m J. Davies 72' c Con: Priestland (2/3) Pen: Priestland (1/2) 32'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,586 Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU)

Round 5

6 October 2013 14:05

Cardiff Blues	29–12	Edinburgh Rugby
Try: Cuthbert (2) 28' c, 66' c Con: Halfpenny (2/2) Pen: Halfpenny (5/6) 4', 26', 53', 57', 60'	Report	Pen: Laidlaw (4/5) 16', 24', 32', 38'

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 7,245 Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)

Round 6

25 October 2013 19:45

Edinburgh	20–13	Benetton Treviso (1 BP)
Try: Tonks 11' c Nel 74' c Con: Laidlaw (2/2) Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 40', 53'	Report	Try: McLean 61' c Con: Botes (1/1) Pen: Ambrosini (1/2) 36' Botes (1/1) 67'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,993 Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

Round 7

1 November 2013 19:45

Edinburgh	25–23	Zebre (1 BP)
Try: Tonks 20' m Nel 28' c du Preez 55' c Con: Leonard (2/3) Pen: Leonard (2/3) 43', 63'	Report	Try: Iannone 31' c Sarto 40' c Con: Orquera (2/2) Pen: Orquera (3/3) 17', 68', 74'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,156 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Round 8

22 November 2013 19:05

(1 BP) Ulster	41–17	Edinburgh
Try: Gilroy (2) 28' c, 64' c P. Marshall 33' c Diack 61' c McKinney 66' c Con: McKinney (5/5) Pen: McKinney (2/2) 20', 40'	Report	Try: du Preez 15' m Fife 72' m Hart 75' c Con: Leonard (1/3)

Ravenhill Stadium Attendance: 12,955 Referee: Neil Hennessy (WRU)

Round 9

29 November 2013 19:45

(1 BP) Edinburgh	43–10	Connacht
Try: Fife 40' c du Preez 73' c De Luca 77' c Nel 79' c Con: Laidlaw (4/4) Pen: Laidlaw (5/5) 9', 20', 29', 51', 59'	Report	Try: Henshaw 15' c Con: Parks (1/1) Drop: Parks (1/1) 11'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,515 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Round 10

20 December 2013 19:35

Edinburgh	11–6	Leinster (1 BP)
Try: Fife 31' m Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 38', 47'	Report	Pen: Madigan (2/2) 22', 43'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,321 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 11

26 December 2013 15:05

(1 BP) Edinburgh	16–20	Glasgow Warriors
Try: Fife 14' c Con: Laidlaw (1/1) Pen: Laidlaw (3/4) 8', 27', 39'	Report	Try: Hogg 67' m Pen: Weir (5/5) 3', 12', 22', 51', 62'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 10,125 Referee: Neil Paterson (SRU)

Round 12

1 January 2014 18:05

Glasgow Warriors	P–P	Edinburgh
	Postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. [13]

Scotstoun Stadium Referee: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

Round 13

9 February 2014 13:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	P–P	Edinburgh
	Postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. [14]

Rodney Parade Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

Round 14

15 February 2014 17:00

Connacht	11–7	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: Swift 47' m Pen: Ronaldson (1/4) 20' Parks (1/1) 68'	Report	Try: Grant 7' c Con: Bezuidenhout (1/1)

Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 4,038 Referee: Claudio Blessano (FIR)

Round 15

22 February 2014 14:30

Scarlets	25–21	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: J. Williams (2) 32' c, 39' m Warren 58' c Con: A. Thomas (2/3) Pen: A. Thomas (2/2) 16', 22'	Report	Try: De Luca 4' c Brown 45' m Con: Bezuidenhout (1/1) Pen: Bezuidenhout (2/2) 12', 33' Cuthbert (1/1) 62'

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,675 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 16

28 February 2014 19:35

Edinburgh	31–25	Ospreys (1 BP)
Try: Hart (2) 12' c, 34' c Beard 25' m Con: Bezuidenhout (2/3) Pen: Bezuidenhout (4/4) 16', 58', 70', 77'	Report	Try: Hassler (2) 6' m, 61' m Pen: Biggar (5/5) 30', 38', 46', 55', 79'

Meggetland [15] Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 17

21 March 2014 19:45

(1 BP) Edinburgh	3–9	Ulster
Pen: Bezuidenhout (1/2) 14'	Report	Pen: Jackson (3/4) 24', 36', 46'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 6,333 Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)

Round 18

29 March 2014 19:00

Benetton Treviso	20–16	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: Ghiraldini 61' c De Marchi 65' c Con: Botes (2/2) Pen: Botes (2/2) 13', 45'	Report	Try: du Preez 80' c Con: Bezuidenhout (1/1) Pen: Bezuidenhout (3/4) 25', 32', 37'

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 3,160 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

Round 13 rescheduled match

3 April 2014 18:30 [16]

(1 BP) Newport Gwent Dragons	19–23	Edinburgh
Try: Wardle 73' c Con: Tovey (1/1) Pen: Tovey (4/4) 14', 33', 40', 48'	Report	Try: Nel 38' c Scott 50' c Con: Cuthbert (2/2) Pen: Cuthbert (3/4) 36', 67', 70'

Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,574 Referee: Leo Colgan (IRFU)

This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 13, on 9 February 2014 – was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. ^[14]

Round 19

11 April 2014 19:45

(1 BP) Edinburgh	22–29	Cardiff Blues (1 BP)
Try: Scott 10' c Brown 47' c du Preez 80' m Con: Cuthbert (2/3) Pen: Cuthbert (1/1) 5'	Report	Try: Allen (2) 19' c, 35' c Fish 42' c Hewitt 75' m Con: G. Davies (3/4) Pen: G. Davies (1/1) 4'

Meggetland [17] Attendance: 3,700 Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)

Round 20

19 April 2014 15:30

Zebre	26–13	Edinburgh
Try: Venditti 16' m Cristiano 52' m Ratuvou 77' c Con: Orquera (1/3) Pen: Orquera (1/1) 8' Garcia (2/2) 28', 40'	Report	Try: Scott 45' c Con: Cuthbert (1/1) Pen: Bezuidenhout (2/3) 2', 33'

Stadio XXV Aprile Attendance: 1,866 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 12 rescheduled match

26 April 2014 19:05 [18]

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	37–34	Edinburgh (2 BP)
Try: Murchie (2) 8' m, 49' c Jackson 22' m Bennett 40' c Harley 76' c Con: Russell (3/5) Pen: Russell (2/3) 4', 12'	Report	Try: Nel 15' c Scott 58' c Visser (2) 79' c, 80' c Con: Laidlaw (4/4) Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 21', 36'

Scotstoun Stadium Attendance: 8,855 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)

This match – originally scheduled to be held during Round 12, on 1 January 2014 – was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. ^[13]

Round 21

3 May 2014 17:00

Edinburgh	12–55	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Bezuidenhout 9' m Nel 22' c Con: Laidlaw (1/2)	Report	Try: Conway 16' c D. Hurley 40' c Varley 49' c penalty try (2) 55' c, 73' c Williams 66' c O'Donnell 80' c Con: Hanrahan (5/5) Murray (2/2) Pen: Hanrahan (2/2) 15', 27'

Meggetland [17] Attendance: 3,782 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 22

10 May 2014 18:30

Leinster	15–13	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: Murphy 10' m D. Kearney 57' c Con: Gopperth (1/2) Pen: Gopperth (1/1) 51'	Report	Try: Visser 66' c Con: Laidlaw (1/1) Pen: Laidlaw (2/2) 6', 40'

RDS Arena Attendance: 17,900 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Heineken Cup

Table

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
Munster (4)	6	5	0	1	161	77	+84	19	6	2	1	23
Gloucester (7C)	6	3	0	3	113	114	−1	13	10	1	1	14
Edinburgh	6	3	0	3	104	141	−37	10	17	0	0	12
Perpignan	6	1	0	5	112	158	−46	10	19	1	2	7
Source : www.ercrugby.com Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match

Results

Round 1

12 October 2013 13:35

Edinburgh	29–23	Munster (1 BP)
Try: Scott 5' c T. Visser 68' c Con: Laidlaw (2/2) Pen: Laidlaw (5/6) 11', 21', 28', 33', 75'	Report	Try: Laulala 19' c Sherry 25' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (3/3) 15', 52', 64'

Murrayfield Attendance: 7,024 Referee: JP Doyle (RFU)

Round 2

20 October 2013 13:45

(1 BP) Perpignan	31–14	Edinburgh
Try: Michel 43' c Mjekevu (2) 47' c, 63' c Purll 60' c Con: Hook (4/4) Pen: Hook (1/1) 11'	Report	Try: T. Visser 38' c du Preez 76' c Con: Laidlaw (2/2)

Stade Aimé Giral Attendance: 10,073 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 3

8 December 2013 13:00

Edinburgh	12–23	Gloucester
Try: Tonks 6' m Denton 51' c Con: Laidlaw (1/2)	Report	Try: Cook 10' m M. Thomas (2) 17' c, 45' m Con: F. Burns (1/3) Pen: F. Burns (2/3) 15', 31'

Murrayfield Attendance: 5,417 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)

Round 4

15 December 2013 15:00

(1 BP) Gloucester	10–16	Edinburgh
Try: penalty try 34' c Con: F. Burns (1/1) Pen: F. Burns (1/2) 45'	Report	Try: Atiga 50' c Con: Cuthbert (1/1) Pen: Cuthbert (3/5) 9', 17', 39'

Kingsholm Attendance: 10,975 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)

Round 5

11 January 2014 18:00

Edinburgh	27–16	Perpignan
Try: Brown 15' c du Preez 45' c Fife 56' c Con: Laidlaw (3/3) Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 11', 37'	Report	Try: Delonca 74' c Con: Hook (1/1) Pen: Hook (3/3) 19', 32', 42'

Murrayfield Attendance: 5,061 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 6

19 January 2014 12:45

(1 BP) Munster	38–6	Edinburgh
Try: Coughlan 7' m Murphy 21' c Murray 43' c P. O'Mahony 56' c Zebo 65' m Jones 75' c Con: Keatley (4/6)	Report	Pen: Laidlaw (2/3) 6', 27'

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,600 Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

References

1. "Solomons appointed head coach" (Press release). Edinburgh Rugby. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
2. "Scots qualified trio sign" (Press release). Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
3. "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | RaboDirect PRO12 | Rees pens deal at Dragons". Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
4. "Edinburgh prop Allan Jacobsen to retire". BBC Sport. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
5. "John Yapp leaves Edinburgh Rugby". Edinburgh Rugby. 21 August 2013.
6. "Young forwards head south on loan". Edinburgh Rugby. 8 November 2013.
7. "Edinburgh Rugby duo join Bristol on loan". Edinburgh Rugby. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 18 February 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
8. "Lock on loan to Ospreys". Edinburgh Rugby. 29 January 2014.
9. "Kennedy on month-long loan". Edinburgh Rugby. 20 January 2014.
10. "News".^{[ failed verification ]}
11. "BT Sport signs Glasgow and Edinburgh rugby shirt sponsorship deal circumventing Sky advertising ban". Telegraph. 21 August 2013.
12. Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
13. "Edinburgh game postponed". Glasgow Warriors . Glasgow Warriors plc. 1 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
14. "Dragons match postponed". Edinburgh Rugby . Scottish Rugby Union plc. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
15. "Edinburgh Rugby to face Ospreys at Meggetland". The Scotsman . Johnston Press. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
16. "Dragons v Edinburgh rescheduled". Edinburgh Rugby . Scottish Rugby Union plc. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
17. "RaboDirect run-in confirmed". Edinburgh Rugby . Scottish Rugby Union plc. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014. The match against Munster will be the club's third home match to be hosted at Meggetland in Colinton, following last month's win over Ospreys (31–25) and next Friday's capital clash with Cardiff Blues (11 April, kick-off 7.45pm).
18. "1872 Cup date confirmed". Glasgow Warriors . Glasgow Warriors plc. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.