Neil Cochrane

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Neil Cochrane
Cochrane vs Welsh.PNG
Neil Cochrane playing for Bedford Blues against London Welsh
Birth nameNeil Cochrane
Date of birth (1984-01-04) 4 January 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb) [1]
School Boroughmuir High School
University University of Reading
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2005–2008 Rotherham Titans 83 (70)
2008–2011 Doncaster Knights 75 (60)
2011–2013 Bedford Blues 50 (70)
2013–2014 London Wasps 8 (10)
2014–2018 Edinburgh Rugby 75 (35)
Correct as of 22 May 2018

Neil Cochrane (born 4 January 1984 in Edinburgh) is a retired Scottish rugby union player. Cochrane played for Edinburgh Rugby from 2014 until his retirement at the end of the 2018 season having spent the early parts of his career in England. A former captain of the Scotland under 21s, he was known as a hard-hitting forward with plenty of pace and power. [2]

Contents

Background

When he was fifteen he took up rugby at Boroughmuir High School after his friends convinced him to play in their team. Cochrane initially played rugby union at centre before moving to flanker. Whilst playing for Boroughmuir he was spotted by the Under 16s State School Scotland Rugby Union Team, which led to an academy place with Edinburgh Rugby. In 2003 Cochrane was called up to the Scotland Under-21s, captaining the team between 2004 and 2005.

Club career

Rotherham Titans

In 2005 he was offered his first professional contract by RFU Championship side the Rotherham Titans. During his three years at Rotherham, Cochrane made 83 appearances at flanker scoring 70 points and was voted player of the year in his final season for them.

Doncaster Knights

In 2008 Cochrane signed a full-time contract with the Doncaster Knights where once again supporters voted him Player of the Year [3] in 2010. During his three years at the Knights, Cochrane made 75 appearances scoring 60 points.

Bedford Blues

Bedford Blues moved in to sign Cochrane from Doncaster Knights at the beginning of the 2011–12 RFU Championship where he changed from the position of flanker to hooker. Bedford Director of Rugby Mike Rayer said "We are delighted that he has agreed to join us next season, you only need to have seen Doncaster in action this season to realise how important a player Neil has been to the Knights." [4]

Cochrane quickly established himself as the starting hooker for the Blues, who secured second position in the 2011–12 RFU Championship table with a win over Nottingham in the last game of the season. Whilst in preparations for the semifinals of the Championship playoffs against London Welsh Bedford agreed a new 12-month deal with Cochrane to continue playing in his new position for the 2012–13 Championship season.

London Wasps

On 3 May 2013, Cochrane leaves Bedford Blues for London Wasps, who compete in the Aviva Premiership for the 2013–14 season. [5]

Edinburgh Rugby

On 27 January 2014, Cochrane returns to Scotland to rejoin with his hometown club Edinburgh Rugby for the 2014–15 season. [6]

International career

He was called up to the senior Scotland squad for the 2018 Six Nations Championship. [7]

Related Research Articles

The 2011–12 RFU Championship was the third season of the second tier of the English domestic rugby union competition, played between August 2011 and May 2012. New teams to the division included Leeds Carnegie who were relegated from the Aviva Premiership 2010–11 and London Scottish who were promoted from 2010–11 National League 1. The first stage was won by Bristol and the final by London Welsh who, after an appeal, won promotion to the Aviva Premiership 2012–13. Esher were relegated to the 2012–13 National League 1.

The 2012–13 RFU Championship is the fourth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of English domestic rugby union competitions, played between August 2012 and May 2013.

The 2013–14 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, was the fifth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rugby Football Union. It was held between 14 September 2013 and 4 June 2014. It was contested by eleven English clubs and one from Jersey in the Channel Islands. It was also the first Championship season with a title sponsor, as the Rugby Football Union and Greene King Brewery reached a deal by which the brewery would become the competition's main sponsor from 2013–14 through to 2016–17.

The 2014–15 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the sixth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by eleven English clubs and one from Jersey in the Channel Islands. This is the second year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery, which runs until 2017. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also competed in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from Ireland and Wales. Matches in the RFU Championship were broadcast on Sky Sports.

The 2015–16 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the seventh season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by eleven English clubs and one from Jersey in the Channel Islands. This is the third year of the competition's sponsorship with Greene King Brewery, which runs until 2017. The twelve teams in the RFU Championship also compete in the British and Irish Cup, along with clubs from Ireland and Wales. Some matches in the RFU Championship are broadcast on Sky Sports.

References

  1. ↑ "Bedford Blues Rugby Club". web page. Bedford Blues. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Neil Cochrane leaves Doncaster for Bedford Blues". web page. BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Cochrane is aiming to go from strength to strength". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  4. ↑ "Neil Cochrane leaves Doncaster for Bedford Blues". web page. BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "London Wasps sign Bedford Blues hooker Neil Cochrane". BBC Sport. 3 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Edinburgh snaps up London Wasps hooker Neil Cochrane". BBC Sport. 27 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Six Nations: Scotland call up Edinburgh's Neil Cochrane after George Turner blow". BBC. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
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