Solomons shows his loyalty to capital cause
WHEn Alan Solomons took over as head coach of Edinburgh Rugby in 2013, he was warned that the club was ‘a basket case’. And t hat was by SRU c hi e f executive Mark Dodson.
Yet, it didn’t put him off then and now the 64-year- old South African has agreed a one- year contract extension that will keep him at the club till June 2016.
There is most definitely work still to be done, with Edinburgh’s historymaking European run this season offset by their disappointing Pro12 campaign. Consistency has been hard to come by.
What can’t be questioned, at least, is Solomons’ commitment to the cause. Incredibly, he insists he has not even managed a night out with his wife in Edinburgh since he arrived.
‘I know it may sound hard to believe but I just have not had the time,’ he revealed. ‘ Apart from being at a Guinness Pro12 dinner last year, I have hardly been out at all.
‘My main aim is to turn Edinburgh around and that has taken up all of my time. I have never been out in the city i n the evening socially but maybe when the season ends I will find the time.’
Solomons f i rmly believes he is turning the club around after a tough start, which obviously wouldn’t have come as a surprise after Dodson’s warning about the state of the club.
‘When I took over nearly two years ago he described Edinburgh Rugby to me as a basket case, so I was left under no illusions that I was facing a big challenge,’ he continued. ‘ To be honest it turned out to be even harder than I expected.
‘The problem was that I didn’t join the club in time to influence the pre-season recruitment or to take preseason training which caused all sorts of problems for me, as I immediately knew things weren’t right.
‘I discovered we had no strength in depth, our recruitment had been poor and our strength and conditioning programme was atrocious which meant near the end of my first season our results fell away as the players weren’t fit enough.
‘It was so bad I had to bring in my own people and backroom staff to improve things. This, my second season, i s really my first season proper as I have been able to do things my way.’
That may have been the case but after the first five league matches of the season he was still struggling with just one win.
‘Yes, at the start of this season things were not going our way but the main reason for that was we had more injuries than I have ever had at a club side,’ said Solomons. ‘not having the likes of Grant Gilchrist available was a big blow for us. Because of that, we had a bit of an early- season hiccup but it never concerned me much as I knew it was just a matter of time before we improved.
‘Overall, I feel we’re moving into the next phase of our development as a squad and that’s really exciting.
‘We are progressing but there is still a long way to go. I am absolutely focused on continuing this progress and realising the vision.’
A possible eighth place Pro12 finish may not sound like improvement but t he Edinburgh head c oach is confident the club is heading in the right direction. Others are not so sure.
The loss for long periods of key players such as Scotland caps Gilchrist, Matt Scott and David Denton was undoubtedly a blow.
And Solomons also had to rebuild team morale following a players’ revolt against managing director David Davies’ methods, which subsequently led to his resignation.
On the flipside, however, his detractors point to the club’s league position and the head coach’s signing policy, which has focused on mainly bringing in foreign journeymen.
Former Scotland and Lions prop Peter Wright is among those surprised that the South African has been handed so readily a new contract ahead of the final game of the season against Leinster at BT Murrayfield on Saturday.
‘ I would base whether he deserved a contract extension or not on league form and on that I would say no,’ said Wright.
‘Remember, Edinburgh got to the semi-final of the Heineken Cup back in 2012 under Michael Bradley, who lost his job early the following season as their league form was so bad.
‘With one game left of this season, Edinburgh are eighth which would deny them seventh place in the table that would secure a play-off spot for next year’s Champions Cup. Is finishing eighth two years in a row worth a new deal? I don’t see it.
‘I accept they did well to reach the Challenge Cup Final but that is knock-out rugby and anything can happen. The l eague i s where coaches should be judged.
‘Also Edinburgh, as they did in the Challenge Cup Final, kick the living daylights out of the ball and get little return. It isn’t great to watch and if they were winning more games you could justify it but they aren’t.’