Rugby: Glasgow coach Lineen being lined up for Edinburgh job

Published on Tuesday 29 March 2011 11:27

Sean LINEEN was today emerging as a possible fill for the vacant coaching position at Edinburgh Rugby as the American Eagles team warned not to expect favourite Eddie O'Sullivan to become available quickly.

Since the decision by interim coach Nick Scrivener to withdraw his application yesterday, speculation has centred on ex-Ireland coach O'Sullivan who then crossed the Atlantic to pursue his career.

A statement from US Rugby in response to an inquiry from the Evening News said: "Eddie is contracted until after the Rugby World Cup (this Autumn) and is 100 per cent focused on preparing the Eagles. He's a great coach, so it's not surprising that people are trying to get him."

Meanwhile, as Lineen began to be linked with Bath where head coach Steve Meehan will soon leave, the possibility of a move back along the M8 to Edinburgh for the current Glasgow coach appeared increasingly like a way of keeping the former grand slam centre in the Scottish game.

Lineen has always lived in the Capital since arriving from New Zealand in the late 1980s and would be widely welcomed here as an ideal fit after a turbulent season at Glasgow.

Scotland, meanwhile, have had two scheduled World Cup pool clashes switched due to the earthquake in Christchurch. They now face Argentina in Dunedin on September 25 while the clash with Georgia will be in Invercargill on September 14 and not Dunedin for "operational reasons".