Scotland coach believes Gloucester move will complete Greig Laidlaw"s rugby ...

Scotland head coach Scott Johnson thinks Greig Laidlaw is a future coach of Scotland and that a move to Gloucester will help complete his rugby education.

Johnson, also director of rugby at Murrayfield, admitted there was discussion between making an offer to keep Laidlaw at Edinburgh or letting him leave for Gloucester, who confirmed that the Scotland No 9 and some-time captain had agreed terms for next season.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved in Edinburgh Rugby for their support over seven fantastic seasons at Murrayfield,” said Laidlaw.

“I’ve taken great pride from playing and captaining the team in some memorable matches, something which I’ll never forget.

“Naturally I’m excited about the next chapter of my career. However, my focus is completely on putting my best rugby into the RBS 6 Nations championship and delivering a strong finish for Edinburgh Rugby in the PRO12.”

The 28-year-old joined Edinburgh in 2006 and has made 136 appearances for the club, but Johnson described the move as “a good one for him now”.

“I’m glad he’s got it resolved for his own peace of mind and he can go off and be a great addition to Gloucester,” said Johnson.

“We’re trying to be fair to the system and to Greig. He’s an aspirant coach and I think he’ll be an excellent coach for Scotland in the next period.

“I’m all for players seeing different things and developing as players and future coaches, seeing how things are done in other places.

“We’ve got some young 9s coming through here, especially at Edinburgh, and they’ll now get their chance.

“For World Cup and preparation, there’s maybe a downside in that but I see a lot of positives for both Greig and for Edinburgh.”

Johnson continued that he wasn’t concerned about Gloucester’s plans to utilise Laidlaw at fly-half rather than scrum-half.

“As long as he keeps his core skills good, and he needs to practice them, it should be fine,” he added. “Everyone has a view of a certain player when they come in and that sometimes changes.

“The intention may be to do X and they end up doing Y. But X and Y is good for Greig, he’s got deft and subtle touches and allows us to play the game in a different way. He’s always competitive enough, as long as the core skills are worked on.

“There’s understated things that Grieg does that the team gets; he controls a room, then we can talk about leadership and composure. We want a bit more from his core skills but he’s a wonderful player to have about the squad.”

Johnson added that he had more contract negotiations with Scottish players to deal with this year compared to last.

So far Laidlaw and Chris Cusiter have announced deals with Aviva Premiership clubs, and it’s thought that Ruaridh Jackson could be close to a deal with another.

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-ireland-targeting-aerial-battle-043959731--spt.html

Scotland coach believes Gloucester move will complete Greig Laidlaw"s rugby ...