Darcy Graham turns down France to commit future to Edinburgh Rugby

Huge Christmas present for Edinburgh fans as key winger agrees new deal

Darcy Graham has committed his long-term future to Edinburgh after resisting offers from France to sign a three-year contract with the capital club.

In what is a major coup for coach Sean Everitt, the new deal will see the prolific Scotland winger remain in Edinburgh until the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Graham, 26, has been in outstanding form over the last couple of seasons and recently returned to rugby after recovering from hip and knee injuries. He is joint second on the all-time Scotland try-scorers list with 24, and only Stuart Hogg is ahead of him, on 27. He showed his finishing prowess at the recent World Cup in France with five tries in four games, including four against Romania, and his scoring exploit didn’t go unnoticed. The Scotsman understands that more than one French club were keen to sign Graham whose 24 international tries have come in only 39 Tests.

“I’m hugely excited,” said Graham, who joined Edinburgh’s academy from Hawick. “It’s been my boyhood dream to play for Edinburgh. I grew up an hour down the road, joined straight from U-20s and I’ve been here a good while now – I’m delighted to be staying for another three years. I did have other offers, but this is home and, after speaking with Sean, he really sold me on his plans for the club. That got me excited and I’m keen to be part of what we’re building here in Edinburgh. I think Sean and I are pretty similar. He knows what he wants. I know what I want. He keeps it nice and simple, just go out and play rugby and that’s exactly what I’m all about. We sometimes make rugby too confusing. I feel like I can play the type of game that I enjoy under Sean.”

Darcy Graham has committed his long-term future to Edinburgh Rugby by signing a new three-year contract. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

Everitt labelled Graham a “world class talent” and expressed his delight at tying down one of Scotland’s most sought after players. “Make no bones about it, Darcy is box office,” said Everitt who took over in the summer following Mike Blair’s departure. “He’s a world class talent who can change a game at the drop of a hat. We’ve seen that for both Edinburgh and Scotland through the years – it’s brilliant that we’ve managed to re-sign him on a new long-term deal.

“Darcy is a guy who just loves to play the game of rugby and I think that being here in Edinburgh, surrounded by his team-mates, friends and family, suits him to a tee. This is his boyhood club where he has made his name and the Edinburgh supporters absolutely love him – you only have to hear their reaction every time he scores at home. It’s hugely exciting for both club and country that Darcy has decided his future remains in Edinburgh, and I’m sure our fans will be celebrating this news on Christmas Day.”

Being able to hang on to Graham was made more important for Edinburgh after they lost Blair Kinghorn to Toulouse earlier in the season. The full-back was still under contract and the club received a six-figure fee by way of compensation but they did not want to another of their talented back-three players to depart. It's a real area of strength for Everitt's side, with Graham, Duhan van der Merwe, Emiliano Boffelli, Wes Goosen and Harry Paterson providing an array of attacking options for the coach. Graham now hopes that such a collection of talent can help deliver a major trophy for the club.

“It’s my ambition to win silverware with Edinburgh,” he said. “I’d be gutted if I went my whole career here and didn’t win anything with this club and group of players. I genuinely feel like this group can win something and that was also a factor in wanting to stay in Edinburgh. We’ve got the talent, a great new home, it’s now about backing it up week on week. I’ve been at the club seven years now and I look at a lot of my team-mates as my brothers,” added Graham. “I spend so much time with these guys, a lot I’ve known since U-20s, and it really does feel like a big family at Edinburgh. Being part of this back-three at Edinburgh is incredible. We’ve got so much competition with myself, Duhan, Boff [Emiliano Boffelli], Wes and with Harry Paterson coming through it keeps us on our toes. It really is up there with one of the best back-three groups in club rugby.”

Graham has scored 24 tries so far for Scotland.

Graham burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old when he was called up to represent Hawick in the Scottish Cup final at Murrayfield in 2015. He was given his professional debut for Edinburgh against London Irish two years later and scored with an acrobatic finish in the corner. He developed further on the World Rugby Sevens circuit with Scotland before returning to Edinburgh for a the 2018-19 season during which he scored seven tries in 19 appearances. Graham made his full Scotland debut in 2018, coming off the bench in the 2018 Doddie Weir Cup game against Wales in Cardiff. He then went on to feature in the 2019 Guinness Six Nations, scoring three tries including a double in the 38-38 drawn epic at Twickenham. He was selected for his first Rugby World Cup in 2019 and played in all four Scotland group stage matches in Japan.

Although he missed the start of the current campaign due to injury, he made his return off the bench in the EPCR Challenge Cup victory over Castres Olympique earlier this month then started in the 1872 Cup first leg defeat by Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun on Friday.