EDINBURGH'S steady moves to challenge the serious players in British and European competition continued yesterday with Ben Cairns signing a new contract still a year from when his current one ends.
That may seem fairly straightforward, but the re-signing of Cairns on top of 12 quality team-mates in the past six months is a significant development in Scottish rugby. Cairns, who made his Scotland debut in Argentina last month, follows the Blair b
rothers, Mike and David, Ross Ford, Phil Godman, Nick De Luca, Ross Rennie and John Houston among the fine native talent to pledge their futures to Edinburgh.
This is in stark contrast to the situation a year ago when 15 internationalists left Scotland, eight from Edinburgh. That was a uniquely large exodus, but still the new policy suggests the SRU have finally twigged the importance of long-term thinking to the country's pro game.
No longer are the hands of Scottish coaches tied by SRU accountants, re-signing and signing new players on hold until months, sometimes weeks, before a player's contract is up. The cost has been players departing regularly, and also a seeping discontent among some who stayed.
That has been addressed with Cairns the latest called in for talks, despite having a full year left on his current deal. The blond-haired centre said he had no intentions to leave the Scottish capital and so was not interested in whispers of interest in the new Scotland No13 from across the UK and France, but that could have changed by the time his contract was up next summer. He is still only 22, but having stormed the professional stage in 2006/7 and smashed the notion of 'second-year syndrome' in style this year Cairns is proving as adept at surmounting new challenges as he is opponents.
"It's about progression now," he insisted. "I'm pretty happy about where I am at the moment, both in a rugby sense and lifestyle-wise in Edinburgh – I've travelled the world and seen wonderful cities, but I think we forget how great Edinburgh is, and I always love coming home.
"We also have a good rugby set-up. Two years ago, breaking into the side and getting as many starts as I got was really good for me, but this past season was awesome. It took me a while to get going, and then I was beginning to think 'this is what people talk about; this is the second-season syndrome', but the more I played at 13 the more confident I became, developed a good partnership with Nick De Luca, got involved with Scotland's Six Nations training squad and then made my debut in Argentina. I don't think it could have been any better."
His pairing with the similarly quick and ambitious De Luca is particularly mouth-watering, and while both will be more heavily marked this season, Cairns' renowned cool head – he insisted that passing his driving test recently was more nerve-wracking that making his Scotland debut – could help both mature encouragingly.
His explanation of how Scotland turned a close-thing into a Test victory in Argentina was typical of his ambition and innate desire to attack. Staring intently, he said: "We just decided to take it to them, from anywhere on the field when it was on.
"We should have won the first Test and we wanted to prove that in Buenos Aires, and we did. We played with more width, really had a go and were confident. And I think that mindset suits us – Scotland and Edinburgh.
"We've got the physicality that other nations have now, so it's about playing the game that suits us best and for me that means taking people on and playing with the same belief that you show with your club."
The loss last summer of such stars as Simon Taylor, Scott Murray, Chris Paterson (now returned) and Rob Dewey initially spread fear among Edinburgh's loyal supporters, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for two reasons – it lowered the usual expectations and pressure around the camp and created openings for young talents such as Cairns to emerge.
Expectations are rising again, even though Edinburgh still lag well behind most Magners League clubs, not to mention Europe's elite, in financial resources. However, one glance at the new strength in depth in the capital side suggests they have never been better placed to meet them.
The full article contains 749 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
