Edinburgh senior coach Sean Everitt has appointed scrum-half Ben Vellacott as one of his co-captains for the coming season, but is delaying a decision on the other skipper until he can have talks with some of the senior players who are currently in France on Rugby World Cup duty.
Jamie Ritchie is the present Scotland captain and led Edinburgh last season, while Grant Gilchrist, too, has led the capital club. Other experienced internationals are also likely to come into consideration for the role alongside Vellacott as Everitt, who was appointed in July, begins to put his personal stamp on the squad.
“Ben leads by example,” he said of his decision to offer the leadership role to the 28-year-old. “His recovery that he does after training is an example of that. His preparation during the week for training sessions is always top drawer. He’s experienced, he’s an international rugby player, and the players look up to him for guidance.
“I haven't decided who the other co-captain is. I haven’t had the opportunity to sit down with the international players - I haven’t had a chance to chat to Jamie or any of the boys as regards captaincy yet, but I know that there are a few candidates that have captained Edinburgh before, and I’ll have discussions with those individuals when they return from the World Cup. We’ll come up with the right candidate.”
About to enter his third season as an Edinburgh player, Vellacott admitted to being surprised but delighted by Everitt’s offer. “I’m over the moon - it still hasn’t really sunk in,” he said. “I was not expecting the news at all, and I was really taken aback when Sean asked me last week.
“I had just finished breakfast at the club and Sean asked to speak to me. I initially thought ‘Oh no, have I done something wrong?’, and he quickly reassured me there was nothing to worry about.
“We had a really positive chat around the role, he gave me the opportunity to mull over it, and once I had a good think about it and spoke to a couple of people it was a pretty easy decision. It gives you a lot of confidence when a new coach comes in and makes you captain.”
Vellacott will represent the club in his new role for the first time on Friday, when Connacht are the visitors for Edinburgh’s first pre-season friendly. “It’s been a long old pre-season - I think it’s 16 weeks,” he added. “So the boys can’t wait to get out there on Friday night against Connacht and dust off a few cobwebs.”
