'I taught this club what work ethic looked like' - ex-Edinburgh coach looks back on his legacy

Richard Cockerill’s return to Edinburgh was never likely to be a quiet affair and the club’s former coach had a few trenchant observations to make about his time in charge, his legacy and where the team are currently.

Cockerill is based in Georgia now and will be in the opposition coach’s box on Sunday when his Black Lion side take on the capital club in the European Challenge Cup at Hive Stadium.

The former England hooker spent four years in charge of Edinburgh and is rightly proud of what he achieved, signing the likes of Duhan van der Merwe and Pierre Schoeman - against the wishes of some, he claims - and helping develop players such as Darcy Graham and Luke Crosbie.

Richard Cockerill is now in charge of Georgian club Black Lion as well as the national side. | Black Lion

A straight talker, he accepts he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but believes he changed the culture at Edinburgh for the better. However, he feels they still lag behind Glasgow Warriors.

“I taught the club what work ethic looked like and what a tough and harsh environment looked like and we were better for it,” Cockerill said. “The reality is, since I've left, they've not been as good, have they?

“So I'm very proud of what I did at Edinburgh. Some people liked me, some people didn't like me, but hey, that's sport, isn't it? But they're a good side. They're good people. They're good men. You know, they're a quality team, aren't they? They're a top six team if they play to their potential.”

Cockerill doesn’t believe Edinburgh are consistent enough to emulate Glasgow Warriors and become URC champions but he can see them winning the Challenge Cup. Sean Everitt’s side are top of Pool 3 going into Sunday’s match and a win over Black Lion will see them secure a top seeding which would guarantee them a home tie in the last 16, and also the quarter-finals if they were to make it that far.

“Glasgow have a different mentality to life,” added Cockerill waspishly. “Edinburgh's always been the more comfortable side of the country, shall we say. And that's the nature of it, isn't it?

“I think Edinburgh are a cup team. They're a team that can win a cup. I think they're a hard team to get to win a championship because they're just not consistent enough, are they? But they're a good side, we know that.

“On their day, they've got a fantastic squad. You get [Emiliano] Boffelli fit. [Wes] Goosen's been very good. You know, Darcy and Duhan have been their main threats. They've got an all-international forward pack who have got a real edge about them. So, yeah, they're definitely good enough to win the Challenge Cup.”

Van der Merwe has been ruled out of Sunday’s game due to an ankle sprain but Scotland’s all-time top try-scorer should be fit for the Six Nations. Cockerill, who was in charge of Edinburgh for four seasons, brought the winger to the club from Montpellier in 2017 but claims not everyone was in favour of the deal, nor the one to sign Schoeman.

Richard Cockerill brought Duhan van der Merwe to Edinburgh. | SNS Group / SRU

“Look, I was brought in to do a job and the team that I left was a lot better than the team that I inherited,” he said.

“We were quarter-finalists of Europe and narrowly lost to Munster [in 2019]. First time we've ever been as a club to a semi-final in the URC [they lost to Ulster in 2020]. I was coach of the year in 2020, voted by the other coaches.

“When I signed Duhan, he came with an injury and some members of the union didn't want to keep him. So it was a pretty good job I supported that player.

“Schoeman was [deemed] too expensive when I signed him. ‘Are you sure he's the right man?’ Well, he's probably one of the world's best looseheads, isn't he?

“I gave Darcy Graham his debut, Crosbie came through….”

Cockerill and Edinburgh parted ways in 2021. Mike Blair took over for a couple of years - with help from Steve Diamond towards the end - and Everitt was appointed in summer 2023. Prior to decamping to Georgia, Cockerill worked with England first as forwards coach and then as scrum coach. He then had a short stint in charge of Montpellier before heading to Tbilisi where he has a dual role as head coach of both Georgia and Black Lion.

He is relishing the challenge and is fiercely ambitious, targeting the 2027 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals for the national side and a place in the URC for Black Lion.

“I'm contracted to the World Cup, so there's two things. To keep developing the Black Lion. We're a team that has ambitions to join the URC, so these games are important to see what that level looks like.

“If we do join the URC, if we get the opportunity, we're going to need to improve our playing depth and quality, but that'll give us the opportunity to recruit guys back from France because we'd be then competing in a very good competition that's as good as the Premiership and the Top 14.

“And for the national team, the aim is to get to the next World Cup and get to a quarter-final. We've got good infrastructure. We've got good backing from the government. Georgian rugby is only going to get stronger. It's a great city. There's lots to love about Tbilisi, and Batumi and Kutaisi and all the other places in Georgia. So Georgia is only going to get stronger.

“I know some of the authorities would like us to go away because it would make life easier, but we're not going away. We're here to stay and we're here to compete. The Georgian union and the government and the Georgian public are very much behind that.”

Richard Cockerill was Edinburgh's head coach between 2017 and 2021. | SNS Group

Never afraid to shake up the status quo, Cockerill would like to see Georgia and the other Rugby Europe Championship nations given the chance to join the elite. He’s an advocate of promotion play-offs for the Six Nations, even if it means Georgia replacing his beloved England.

“I don't think anybody's asking to be given a place in the Six Nations, but whoever finishes bottom, why not play off against Portugal, if they were to win Rugby Europe, or Romania or ourselves, whoever wins Rugby Europe?

“Because isn't that what sport's about? And then there's some jeopardy there, isn't there? Because [at the moment] you sit there, you can have a poor Six Nations and know that you're going to turn up next year. It was Wales last year, but it could be Italy, it could be Scotland, it could be England, couldn't it? But at least give us an opportunity to be able to compete.

“If Wales are bottom, well, let's go to Cardiff in a one-game play-off and see if we're good enough to get in the Six Nations. If we can beat Wales in Wales, well, we deserve to be in the Six Nations, or England or whoever. So we're not asking for charity, we're asking for an opportunity. But at the moment, that's not forthcoming, is it?”

And how would he feel about Georgia eliminating England from the Six Nations?

“That would be perfect, I'll take that!” he grinned. “That's wishful thinking, but we'll take it. If we win Rugby Europe, give us the opportunity, and if we get beaten fair and square, no problem, we'll come back to Rugby Europe.

“The Italians are really keen to keep [the Six Nations] ring-fenced, but they weren't when they were on the outside of it, were they?

“And I understand, if a country gets relegated from the Six Nations, financially it's catastrophic. But no different to us if we get promoted, how good it would be for Georgian rugby, because it's worth tens of millions of pounds.

“So, we talk about opening the world and making the game more accessible, or unless you're the inconvenient sibling, which is what we are at the moment.”

You sense he wouldn’t have it any other way.