2015–16 Edinburgh Rugby season

The 2015–16 season was Edinburgh Rugby's fifteenth season competing in the Pro12.

Edinburgh 2015 / 2016

Ground(s)	Murrayfield Stadium, Meggetland
CEO	Jon Petrie
Coach(es)	Alan Solomons
Captain(s)	Mike Coman
League(s)	Pro 12
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Team

Coaches

Alan Solomons signed a contract extension[1] to stay on as head coach for another year. He'll again be assisted by Stevie Scott.

Joining the coaching team former Scotland stand-off Duncan Hodge who joined [2] from the Scotland national team. Also joining in the summer was former All Black, Australia and Crusaders strength and conditioning coach Ash Jones.[3] He also worked with the Scotland national squad in preparation for Rugby World Cup 2015. Englishman Peter Wilkins joined as defence coach from Queensland Reds.[4]

Coaches

• Alan Solomons (Head coach)
• Stevie Scott (Forwards coach)
• Duncan Hodge (Backs coach)
• Ash Jones (Head of S&C)
• Peter Wilkins (Defence coach)

Other coaches

• Marc Keys (Assistant S&C Coach)
• Ben Atiga (Player and Skills Coach)
• Murray Fleming (Lead performance analyst)
• Paul Larter (Performance analyst)

Squad

Hookers Neil Cochrane Ross Ford James Hilterbrand ^WCC Stuart McInally George Turner Props John Andress Craig Bachurzewsk ^WCC Simon Berghan Jack Cosgrove ^SRA Allan Dell Alasdair Dickinson Grant Shiells Rory Sutherland WP Nel Locks Anton Bresler Grant Gilchrist Fraser McKenzie Alex Toolis Ben Toolis

Loose Forwards Magnus Bradbury Mike Coman (c) David Denton Cornell du Preez Roddy Grant John Hardie Nasi Manu Jamie Ritchie Hamish Watson Half Backs Nathan Fowles Sam Hidalgo-Clyne Sean Kennedy Murdo McAndrew ^WCC Stand offs Blair Kinghorn Greig Tonks Jason Tovey ^(loan) Jade Te Rure

Centres Michael Allen Sam Beard Phil Burleigh Chris Dean James Johnstone ^WCC Matt Scott Andries Strauss Back Three Tom Brown Jack Cuthbert Dougie Fife Will Helu Damien Hoyland Otulea Katoa ^WCC Nick McLennan

(c) Denotes team captain,
Italicised denotes Scottish qualified
WCC - World Cup Cover

Transfers

Personnel In

• Magnus Bradbury from Scottish Rugby Academy [5]
• William Helu from Wasps [5]
• Nasi Manu from Highlanders/Canterbury[6]
• Rory Sutherland from Scottish Rugby Academy
• Nathan Fowles from Sale Sharks [7]
• Michael Allen from Ulster Rugby [8]
• Blair Kinghorn [9]
• Duncan Hodge from Scottish national team
• Murdo McAndrew 4 month trial [10]
• Otulea Katoa from Southland Rugby[11]
• John Hardie from Southland Rugby and Highlanders [12]
• Jason Tovey from Newport Gwent Dragons(loan)

Players Out

• Tom Heathcote to Worcester Warriors[13]
• Grayson Hart to Glasgow Warriors[14]
• Ollie Atkins to Exeter Chiefs[15]
• Tim Visser to Harlequins [16]
• Carl Bezuidenhout Retired
• Jamie Farndale to Scotland 7s
• Hugh Blake to Glasgow Warriors
• Joaquín Domínguez to US Cognac
• Tomás Leonardi to Toulouse[17]
• James Hilterbrand to Manly[18]
• David Denton to Bath Rugby
• Greig Tonks to London Irish

Competitions

Pre season

Match 1

21 August 2015 18:00

Edinburgh	31-16	Romania
Try: Grant (3), Te Rure, Du Preez Con: Fowles, Te Rure (2)	Report	Try: Apostol Con: Dumbrava Pen: Dumbrava, Vlaicu (2)

The Greenyards, Melrose Attendance: 1300

Match 2

29 August 2014 19:45

Edinburgh	23-10	Ulster
	Report

Goldenacre, Edinburgh Attendance: 2124 Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

Player statistics

During the 2015–16 season, Edinburgh have used forty different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and points scored by each player.

As of 06 April 2015 (UTC)

Position	Nation	Name	Pro12			Challenge Cup			Total
			Apps (sub)	Points		Apps (sub)	Points		Apps (sub)	Total Pts
				Try	Kick		Try	Kick
HK		Neil Cochrane	12(4)	0	0	1(4)	0	0	13(8)	0
HK		Ross Ford	7	0	0	4	0	0	11	0
HK		Stuart McInally	(4)	0	0	1	0	0	1(4)	0
HK		George Turner	(8)	0	0	(1)	0	0	(9)	0
PR		John Andress	11(8)	1	0	2(1)	0	0	13(9)	5
PR		Simon Berghan	(11)	0	0	(4)	0	0	(15)	0
PR		Allan Dell	3(10)	1	0	(1)	0	0	3(11)	5
PR		Alasdair Dickinson	5	1	0	3	0	0	8	5
PR		WP Nel	8	1	0	4	0	0	12	5
PR		Grant Shiells	(2)	0	0	(2)	0	0	(4)	0
PR		Rory Sutherland	11(3)	0	0	3(2)	0	0	14(5)	0
LK		Anton Bresler	15	0	0	5(1)	0	0	21(1)	0
LK		Grant Gilchrist	0(1)	0	0	0	0	0	0(1)	0
LK		Fraser McKenzie	6(1)	0	0	1	0	0	7(1)	0
LK		Alex Toolis	7(9)	2	0	4(1)	0	0	11(10)	10
LK		Ben Toolis	8(1)	1	0	2	0	0	10(1)	5
BR		Magnus Bradbury	(4)	0	0	1(1)	1	0	1(5)	5
BR		Mike Coman	13	0	0	3(1)	1	0	16(1)	5
BR		Roddy Grant	4(1)	0	0	0	0	0	4(1)	0
BR		John Hardie	5	1	0	4	3	0	9	20
BR		Nasi Manu	5(1)	0	0	1(1)	0	0	6(2)	0
BR		Cornell du Preez	16(3)	3	0	6	3	0	21(3)	30
BR		Jamie Ritchie	5(4)	0	0	2(2)	0	0	7(6)	0
BR		Hamish Watson	10(5)	3	0	2(2)	1	0	11(7)	20
SH		Nathan Fowles	5(2)	0	15	1(2)	0	0	6(4)	15
SH		Sam Hidalgo-Clyne	8(3)	1	66	3(1)	0	30	11(4)	111
SH		Sean Kennedy	6(6)	0	0	2(1)	0	0	8(7)	0
FH		Blair Kinghorn	6(6)	0	18	(2)	0	0	6(8)	18
FH		Phil Burleigh	17	4	0	2	0	0	19	20
FH		Greig Tonks	9(2)	0	44	6	1	23	15(2)	72
FH		Jason Tovey	1	0	9	0	0	0	1	9
CE		Mike Allen	9(2)	0	0	3	0	0	12(2)	0
CE		Sam Beard	7(1)	1	0	0	0	0	7(1)	5
CE		Chris Dean	8(4)	1	0	1(2)	0	0	9(6)	5
CE		James Johnstone	(3)	0	0	0	0	0	(3)	0
CE		Matt Scott	7	2	0	4	0	0	11	10
CE		Andries Strauss	4(3)	0	0	2(1)	0	0	6(4)	0
WG		Tom Brown	13	1	0	4(1)	1	0	16(1)	10
WG		Dougie Fife	8(4)	0	0	3(2)	0	0	11(6)	0
WG		Will Helu	6(2)	1	0	4	1	0	10(2)	10
WG		Damien Hoyland	14	8	0	4(1)	0	0	18(1)	40
WG		Otulea Katoa	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	0
FB		Jack Cuthbert	7(1)	0	4	1(1)	0	0	8(2)	4
FB		Nick McLennan	(1)	0	0	0	0	0	(1)	0

Pro12

League Table

2015–16 Pro12
	Team	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Leinster (RU)	22	16	0	6	458	290	+168	51	27	6	3	73
2	Connacht (CH)	22	15	0	7	507	406	+101	60	46	8	5	73
3	Glasgow Warriors (SF)	22	14	1	7	557	380	+177	68	37	8	6	72
4	Ulster (SF)	22	14	0	8	488	307	+181	61	29	8	5	69
5	Scarlets	22	14	0	8	477	458	+19	45	54	2	5	63
6	Munster	22	13	0	9	459	417	+42	56	36	6	5	63
7	Cardiff Blues	22	11	0	11	542	461	+81	62	53	5	7	56
8	Ospreys	22	11	1	10	490	455	+35	55	49	6	3	55
9	Edinburgh	22	11	0	11	405	366	+39	41	36	2	8	54
10	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	4	0	18	353	492	−139	33	57	0	10	26
11	Zebre	22	5	0	17	308	718	−410	35	99	3	1	24
12	Benetton Treviso	22	3	0	19	320	614	−294	35	79	0	8	20
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[19] number of matches won; the difference between points for and points against; the number of tries scored; the most points scored; the difference between tries for and tries against; the fewest red cards received; the fewest yellow cards received.
Green background (rows 1 to 4) were play-off places, and earned places in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earned places in the European Rugby Champions Cup. To facilitate the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there were no play-offs for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup; the 20th place went to the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup if not already qualified. Because Challenge Cup winner Montpellier qualified via the Top 14, its place passed to the top team from that league not already qualified. Plain background indicates teams that earned a place in the 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Results

Round 1

4 September 2015 19:35

Edinburgh	16–9	Leinster (1 BP)
Try: Hoyland (2) 54' m, 78' m Pen: Fowles (1/3) 24' Cuthbert (1/2) 70'	Report	Pen: Nacewa (3/5) 16', 57', 72'

Meggetland Attendance: 2,478 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 2

12 September 2015 17:10

(1 BP) Benetton Treviso	24–27	Edinburgh
Try: Pratichetti 40' c Naude 41' m Con: Hayward (1/2) Pen: Hayward (4/4) 24', 29', 38', 56'	Report	Try: Burleigh 4' c Hoyland 12' c Beard 33' c Con: Tonks (3/3) Pen: Tonks (2/4) 25', 72'

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Gary Conway (IRFU)

Round 3

2 October 2015 18:00

Edinburgh	20–9	Ospreys
Try: Burleigh 37' c Andress 73' c Con: Tonks (1/1) Cuthbert (1/1) Pen: Tonks (2/2) 47', 63'	Report	Pen: Davies (3/5) 4', 17', 40'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 2,475 Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

Round 4

16 October 2015 19:45

Edinburgh	16–10	Ulster (1 BP)
Try: Watson 54' c Con: Tonks (1/1) Pen: Tonks (3/4) 5', 17', 65'	Report	Try: Reidy 44' c Con: Nelson (1/1) Pen: Nelson (1/1) 24'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 4,324 Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)

Round 5

24 October 2015 14:30

Zebre	19–11	Edinburgh
Try: Berryman 54' c Con: Canna (1/1) Pen: Canna (4/5) 10', 19', 26', 59'	Report	Try: Watson 37' m Pen: Fowles (2/3) 8', 33'

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 6

31 October 2015 18:45

Connacht	14–9	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: O'Halloran 9' m Pen: Carty (3/5) 7', 44', 55'	Report	Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) 15', 53' Kinghorn (1/1) 37'

Galway Sportsgrounds Attendance: 3,834 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Round 7

7 November 2015 17:15

(1 BP) Edinburgh	14–16	Munster
Try: Helu 46' m Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/3) 10', 39', 56'	Report	Try: J. Ryan 7' c Con: Keatley (1/1) Pen: Keatley (3/4) 29', 61', 67'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 4,981 Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU)

Round 8

27 November 2015 19:35

(1 BP) Edinburgh	32–13	Newport Gwent Dragons
Try: Nel 18' c Dickinson 59' c Brown 72' m Scott 76' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/3) Kinghorn (1/1) Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) 6', 27'	Report	Try: Cudd 80' c Con: D. Jones (1/1) Pen: D. Jones (2/2) 15', 34'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,294 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 9

4 December 2015 19:35

Ulster	14–7	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: penalty try 4' c Scholes 10' c Con: Pad. Jackson (2/2)	Report	Try: Du Preez 47' c Con: Cuthbert (1/1)

Kingspan Stadium Attendance: 12,640 Referee: Ian Davies (WRU)

Round 10 (1872 Cup - 23-11 agg.)

27 December 2015 15:05

Edinburgh	23–11	Glasgow Warriors
Try: Scott 12' c Hardie 69' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/4) 30', 50', 59'	Report	Try: Bennett 6' m Pen: Russell (2/2) 47', 56'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 23,642 Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)

Round 11 (1872 Cup - 34-25 agg.)

2 January 2016 17:15

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	11–14	Edinburgh
Try: Bennett 31' m Pen: Weir (2/2) 5', 54'	Report	Try: Burleigh 74' m Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/4) 16', 25', 67'

Murrayfield Stadium[20] Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 12

8 January 2016 19:30

Edinburgh	28–13	Benetton Treviso
Try: Hoyland (2) 12' c, 80' m penalty try 58' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/3) 7', 46', 50'	Report	Try: McLean 64' c Con: Ambrosini (1/1) Pen: Ambrosini (2/2) 17', 24'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,159 Referee: Gary Conway (IRFU)

Round 13

30 January 2016 17:15

Cardiff Blues	10–3	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: Fish 1' c Con: Patchell (1/1) Pen: Patchell (1/3) 15'	Report	Pen: Fowles (1/1) 21'

Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 6,058 Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU)

Round 14

12 February 2016 20:15

Scarlets	22–21	Edinburgh (1 BP)
Try: Allen 5' c Con: S. Shingler (1/1) Pen: S. Shingler (1/1) 17' A. Thomas (4/4) 23', 46', 53', 76'	Report	Try: Du Preez 57' m A. Toolis 73' c Con: Tonks (1/2) Pen: Fowles (2/3) 20', 42' Tonks (1/1) 66'

Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,569 Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

Round 15

19 February 2016 19:05

Ospreys	27–13	Edinburgh
Try: Underhill 34' c Otten 76' m Con: S. Davies (1/2) Pen: S. Davies (5/5) 13', 24', 45', 62', 71'	Report	Try: Dell 25' c Con: Tonks (1/1) Pen: Tonks (2/4) 11', 17'

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,264 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Round 16

28 February 2016 14:05

Edinburgh	24–23	Scarlets (1 BP)
Try: Burleigh 11' c B. Toolis 68' m Con: Kinghorn (1/2) Pen: Kinghorn (4/4) 5', 22', 40', 42'	Report	Try: Parkes 15' m J. Davies 26' m S. Evans 35' c Con: Thomas (1/3) Pen: Thomas (2/4) 7', 14'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,618 Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)

Round 17

4 March 2016 19:35

(1 BP) Edinburgh	23–28	Connacht (1 BP)
Try: Dean 43' m Hoyland 51' c Du Preez 59' m Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (1/3) Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/3) 68', 80'	Report	Try: MacGinty 20' c Heenan 32' c Aki 45' c E. McKeon 72' c Con: Ronaldson (3/3) MacGinty (1/1)

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,584 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Round 18

27 March 2016 14:30

(1 BP) Newport Gwent Dragons	15–16	Edinburgh
Try: Amos (2) 41' c, 53' m Con: D. Jones (1/2) Pen: D. Jones (1/2) 38'	Report	Try: Watson 44' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (1/1) Pen: Kinghorn (1/2) 17' Hidalgo-Clyne (2/4) 30', 40'

Rodney Parade Attendance: 6,352 Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)

Round 19

1 April 2016 19:35

(1 BP) Edinburgh	29–0	Zebre
Try: Hoyland (2) 51' c, 56' c Hidalgo-Clyne 68' c A. Toolis 80' m Con: Tovey (3/4) Pen: Tovey (1/1) 13'	Report

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,799 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

European Rugby Challenge Cup

Table

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
Grenoble (4)	6	5	0	1	187	154	+33	22	19	2	0	22
London Irish (8)	6	3	0	3	170	106	+64	25	10	3	2	17
Edinburgh	6	4	0	2	125	103	+22	14	12	1	0	17
Agen	6	0	0	6	98	217	–119	13	32	1	1	2

Results

Round 1

13 November 2015 19:30

Edinburgh	28–10	Grenoble
Try: Du Preez (2) 5' m, 78' c Penalty try 59' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (1/2) 62' Tonks (1/1) 79' Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/3) 32', 39', 44'	Report	Try: Kilioni 70' c Con: Bosch (1/1) 71' Pen: Hart (1/1) 49'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,264 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Round 2

20 November 2015 19:30

Agen	6–27	Edinburgh
Pen: Darbo (2/2) 50', 55'	Report	Try: Penalty try 32' c Du Preez 42' c Hardie 69' c Con: Penalty try (3/3) 33', 43', 70' Pen: Tonks (2/2) 20', 23'

Stade Armandie Attendance: 4,532 Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Round 3

12 December 2015 15:00

(1 BP) London Irish	38–6	Edinburgh
Try: Fenby (3) 9' m, 13' c, 76' c Lewington 27' c Williams 40' c Tikoirotuma 60' m Con: Geraghty (4/6) 14', 28', 40', 77'	Report	Pen: Tonks (2/3) 3', 8'

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 3,959 Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Round 4

18 December 2015 19:30

Edinburgh	18–15	London Irish (1 BP)
Try: Brown 16' c Hardie 71' m Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (1/2) 17' Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/3) 20', 36'	Report	Try: Ellis 8' m Smallbone 59 'c Con: Geraghty (1/2) 60' Pen: Geraghty (1/1) 28'

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,551 Referee: Tom Foley (RFU)

Round 5

15 January 2016 19:30

(1 BP) Edinburgh	23–0	Agen
Try: Bradbury 35' m Coman 59' m Tonks 68' m Watson 73' m Pen: Tonks (1/1) 19'	Report

Murrayfield Stadium Attendance: 3,100 Referee: Ian Davies (WRU)

Round 6

23 January 2016 20:45

Grenoble	34–23	Edinburgh
Try: Heguy 30' c Aplon (2) 69' c, 78' m Con: Wisniewski (2/3) 32', 70' Pen: Wisniewski (5/6) 15', 18', 51', 57', 77'	Report	Try: Hardie 3' c Helu 34' c Con: Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) 5', 35' Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne (3/4) 27', 54', 67'

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 10,072 Referee: Greg Garner (RFU)

References

1. "Alan Solomons inks deal to stay on with Edinburgh".
2. "Duncan Hodge to become Edinburgh backs coach".
3. "Ash Jones". Edinburgh Rugby. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
4. "Wilkins excited by new role". Edinburgh Rugby. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
5. "Bradbury to join pro ranks and it's hello Helu".
6. "Pro12: Canterbury's Nasi Manu to join Edinburgh".
7. "Fowles and Toolis commit to capital club".
8. "Allen comes on board with Edinburgh".
9. "Scotland youth Blair Kinghorn wins Edinburgh deal".
10. "McAndrew earns contract call-up to capital club". Edinburgh Rugby. 1994-03-16. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
11. "Katoa wings in for Romania pre-season friendly". Edinburgh Rugby. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
12. "Hardie joins club on two-year contract". Edinburgh Rugby. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
13. "Worcester Warriors sign Scotland and Edinburgh fly-half Tom Heathcote". BBC Sport. 16 February 2015.
14. "Hart depart end season". BBC Sport. 17 March 2015.
15. "Exeter Chiefs add Scotland 'A' second-row Ollie Atkins from Edinburgh". Sky Sports. 26 March 2015.
16. "Visser moving on after six years in capital". Edinburgh Rugby. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
19. Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
20. "1872 Scottish Cup fixture moved to BT Murrayfield". Glasgow Warriors. Glasgow Warriors plc. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.