Scotland star turns down offers in France and England to stay at Edinburgh

Pierre Schoeman turned down offers from France and England to sign a new contract with Edinburgh because he feels he has a lot to give back to club and country.

The Scotland prop is now in his seventh season at the capital club and looks set to extend that to a decade’s service after putting pen to paper on a three-year deal.

Schoeman, 30, has embraced Scottish life since arriving from his native South Africa in summer 2018. He and his wife Charissa have put down roots here, buying a house and both have started businesses in this country, Schoeman forming a whisky company with his friend and team-mate Duhan van der Merwe.

Pierre Schoeman has committed his long-term future to Edinburgh Rugby. | SNS Group

Schoeman said there were plenty of clubs interested in him but for now at least, he is happy to stay put.

“It was an easy decision for me and my wife,” he said. “We had some offers and interest from the south of France where the sun is nice. And then one from the Premiership as well. But for us, Edinburgh and Scotland gave us everything in our life. So we can still give a lot back emotionally, physically.

“I look forward to another three years with Edinburgh. There's a lot we can still do at this club and with Scotland as well.

“We’ve loved Scotland since the first day. The friends, fans and families. We bought a house in Midlothian. We love it. My wife started her own company. She finished her Master's at Queen Margaret University. And then obviously me and Duhan also started a nice side hustle. It doesn't take any of our physical time but it's a nice distraction, a healthy distraction.

“Which also leads to friends, fans and families enjoying something off the pitch. Which is obviously the Against the Grain whisky. It's also Scottish, an authentic Scottish thing. We think that's brilliant. We love the people and the city.”

His former team-mate at Edinburgh, Blair Kinghorn, left the club last season to join Toulouse and won both the Champions Cup and Top 14 in his first year in France. Schoeman has watched and admired the full-back from afar but was not minded to follow a similar path and suggested he is being well remunerated to remain in the Scottish set-up.

“Blair's done bloody well, won so much stuff with Toulouse. And Ben White as well at Touloun. It does have an influence but like I said, it's nice to give back also. If they make it worthwhile for you to stay, and you have a lot to give still, why not?”

Pierre Schoeman has become a regular for Scotland. | SNS Group

A combative player with formidable ball-carrying ability, Schoeman quickly became a fans’ favourite at Edinburgh and then Scotland, for whom he became qualified on residency grounds in 2021 and has since gone on to win 37 caps. He feels there is plenty more left in the tank and takes inspiration from his former front-row colleague, WP Nel, who played until he was 37.

“I’ve said I'm going to play until I'm 38, 40, like Brok Harris, WP Nel and those boys, so I know I've got some good years ahead of me,” said Schoeman. “Rugby only has a certain amount of lifespan as we know. So I want to give it my all. And if that's another seven years, crack on with it.”

Schoeman does not rule out moving on from Edinburgh further down the line but for the moment his focus is on trying to help the club reach the play-off positions in the United Rugby Championship and progress in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The capital club fell to a disappointing 33-14 defeat against Glasgow Warriors on Sunday which saw them fall out of the top eight in the URC. Schoeman was yellow-carded in the first half for clattering into the back of Gregor Brown at a ruck. The sides meet again at Murrayfield on Saturday where a victory would significantly enhance their play-off hopes.

“The aim for us is definitely to go for the EPCR, but also to be stronger in the URC and to be contenders,” said Schoeman. “We believe we are a top eight team, but we have to fight for the top four spots. And that's why we are so hard on each other as well.

“Playing the URC champs, we have to be a lot better.”

He admitted he had to be more careful around the ruck where getting your timing wrong by a split second can make a big difference.

“We train to disrupt the breakdown before the nine kicks. And that's the moment to do it. So maybe [I] just [need] to be more accurate, I would say, in that situation.”

Schoeman feels he has unfinished business with club and country and does not rule out putting down even deeper roots in Edinburgh.

Pierre Schoeman and Edinburgh Rugby will look to bounce back against Glasgow Warriors on Saturday. | SNS Group

“One thing is me and Charissa, my wife, the first time we moved from South Africa to Edinburgh and Scotland, we wanted to give back to Edinburgh and Scotland, giving us this opportunity. But also, you have to be brave enough also to take another step if that has to come in the future. But at this time, it doesn't feel right. Because I have so much left to give, physically and emotionally, on and off the pitch. So much energy.

“We don't have children yet. Hopefully we get some Scottish children soon.”

For his coach, Sean Everitt, Schoeman is the perfect role model at Edinburgh. “He's shown great form lately and he's a good example to the youngsters and I know we're trying to create pathways for our junior players to come through. They can certainly learn a lot from Pierre' on professionalism. It's not just because of his personality but how he prepares and how he carries himself at training. We're delighted to have him. He's a massive part of our club from a leadership point of view, and not only as a rugby player.”