Edinburgh Rugby co-captain signs new contract and outlines dual aims

Ben Vellacott is targeting silverware with Edinburgh after signing a two-year contract extension.

The scrum-half is in his fourth season with the club and believes they are evolving as a team, particularly in attack, after a couple of disappointing campaigns.

Vellacott, 29, is Edinburgh’s co-captain alongside Grant Gilchrist and said he had no hesitation in agreeing the new deal which ties him to the club until 2027.

Edinburgh's Ben Vellacott has signed a two-year contract extension. | SNS Group

“I got approached at the end of pre-season about staying at the club and it was a pretty easy decision for me,” said Vellacott, who joined Edinburgh from Wasps in 2021. “I feel like there's unfinished business here with the group that we've got.”

Edinburgh didn’t feature in the United Rugby Championship play-offs in 2023 and 2024 but are seventh in the table this season and need a top-eight finish to ensure they don’t miss out again. Vellacott has his sights set higher. He wants to win a trophy at the club and also help bring through the next generation of scrum-halves.

“At this time in my career, I think the big thing for me is trying to help the younger lads coming through. We've got a really good young group of nines and it’s about trying to help them develop as much as possible.

Edinburgh's Ben Vellacott in action against Benetton. | SNS Group

“But at the same time, my goal here is to win silverware. So if we can get ourselves into the top eight or top four in the URC, then we put ourselves in good contention. And obviously, we're going into the knockout rounds of Europe in a few weeks. So again, that's a good chance to win some silverware.”

He added: “We've definitely evolved as a team. Last season, our attack probably wasn't as good as it was in previous seasons. But I think if you look at the amount of tries we've scored this season and the amount of line breaks that we've made, I think our attacks have evolved massively. ”

Vellacott follows Pierre Schoeman, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben Muncaster, D'arcy Rae, Matt Currie and Freddy Douglas in signing contract extensions with Edinburgh this season.