The Herald reports

Scrivener walking away raises questions
Published on 30 Mar 2011

kevin ferrie chief rugby writer [email protected]

Edinburgh’s acting coach, Nick Scrivener, said he was putting family first yesterday as he withdrew his application to take on the job on a permanent basis.

The timing of his decision might appear curious: it comes just three days after the team picked up its first win since he took on the caretaker role when Rob Moffat was sacked as head coach in January, by defeating the Ospreys, the Magners League holders, at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The announcement also came, however, the day after it was confirmed that Scott MacLeod will be the latest high-profile player to leave the club when he heads for Japan to play for the Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers.

The Scottish Rugby Union has repeatedly insisted that it is providing both its professional teams with the level of funding required for them to remain competitive in the Magners League, where they currently occupy two of the bottom four slots, and the Heineken Cup, where neither has reached the knockout stages for seven years. They also made it clear at the time that the decision to remove Moffat was entirely down to results.

Scrivener’s decision could, then, be interpreted as indicating he had been advised, or had at least drawn the conclusion himself, that there was more to it than that.

He said yesterday, though, that his decision to return to his homeland of Australia two years after he joined as an assistant to Moffat, was entirely down to personal reasons.

“This has been a massively difficult call to make, because I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time at Edinburgh and feel I’ve progressed as a coach through working with different people and in different competitions,” said the former ACT Brumbies assistant coach. “I’ve met some great individuals, both among the squad and the management team, and I’ve got faith in their ability to take the club forward.”

It seems his decision was formulated during a recent holiday back to Canberra, where his family still lives, during the two-week gap in Edinburgh’s schedule towards the end of the RBS 6 Nations.

“I’m a rugby man but, first and foremost, I’m a family man,” he said. “My wife and daughters have made huge sacrifices to support me in the last couple of years, and having had the chance to further discuss our future with them, I’ve chosen to withdraw my application and head back to Australia.

“My focus now is on helping Edinburgh follow up Saturday’s great result against the Ospreys by winning our last four Magners League games.”

While Scrivener found wins with Edinburgh just as hard to come by as Moffat had – the latter endured a run of four successive defeats before Saturday’s surprise win over the champions – he did enjoy considerable success with the Scotland A team after taking charge of it this season and achieving victories over the USA, Ireland and Italy.

It made him the most successful Scotland coach at any level this season, partly explaining why he was viewed as the clear front-runner to become Edinburgh’s head coach on a permanent basis.

The same post having offered Andy Robinson his route back into elite coaching four years ago, there has been speculation that some high-profile candidates, including Eddie O’Sullivan, the former Ireland coach, have put their names forward.

The need to develop Scottish coaches must also be a consideration, though, and Peter Wright at Glasgow Hawks and Ally Donaldson, at Currie, have both declared their interest.

While the deadline for applications has passed, an appointment is not thought to be imminent, and there is no real urgency as Scrivener has committed to staying on until the end of a season in which Edinburgh know they will finish in the lower half of the Magners League table.

“We respect Nick’s decision and his desire to be closer to his young family,” said Craig Docherty, Edinburgh’s chief executive, yesterday. “The process of identifying and appointing a permanent head coach is ongoing and we’re working extremely hard to bring in an individual who will ensure the club keeps progressing.”

This article was originally posted on 30-Mar-2011, 06:46 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 30-Mar-2011, 06:47.