PROMOTION-CHASING Haddington have been given a boost ahead of the new season kicking off.
The Neilson Park side were visited by some of the top coaches in Scotland when Edinburgh Rugby stopped off on Tuesday night.
The East Region League Division One side was put through their paces by Edinburgh’s coaching team, led by head coach Sean Everitt.
About 60 players from the East Lothian club turned out for the session, which was the culmination of a competition Edinburgh Rugby ran for local clubs to win a professional coaching clinic.
Rhodri Thomas, Haddington head coach, enjoyed the experience.
He said: “It’s good to have that quality of coaching coming down and giving us messages that hopefully we can take forward and kick on for the season.
“The boys have been looking forward to this and I think they got a lot from it as well this evening.”
The coaching clinic was a valuable opportunity for Haddington RFC to benefit from the expertise of Edinburgh Rugby’s coaching staff, while it also served as a reminder of the importance of grassroots rugby and the vital role it plays in developing talent for the capital club.
Thomas added: “We asked to focus on certain areas like defence and counter attacking.
“I think they fed into each other, so even when we did the bit at the end with the counter-attacking, we were still able to look at the work that they’d done previously with the breakdown and that sort of defence part.
“So, yes, absolutely, the session really covered off what we were looking to achieve.”
Everitt, who previously coached in South Africa before joining Edinburgh last year, was joined in the session by Stevie Lawrie (forwards coach), Michael Todd (defence coach) and new attack and backs coach Scott Mathie, who had only just arrived in the country two days prior.
The head coach expressed his delight at the experience, which saw all coaches take on a 60-minute session.
He said: “It was fantastic to come down and spend some time with the Haddington players.
“The quality of rugby on show was impressive, and it was clear that the players were really buying into the session.
“They were eager to learn and improve, which is always great to see.
“We wish the Haddington squad and management the very best for the new season.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here