Edinburgh have fought off attention from Aviva Premiership giants Leicester and Gloucester to hold on to Scotland international No 8 David Denton until 2016.
The 23-year-old has signed a contract extension to keep him at Murrayfield for a further two years and quoted his enthusiasm with new head coach Alabn Solomons and his team as his motivation for staying.
Capped 17 times for Scotland, Denton exploded on to the international scene for Scotland under Andy Robinson two years ago when he was also part of the Edinburgh team that went to the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup.
The second season in pro rugby was a bit more of a trial for the physical Zimbabwe-born player – he qualifies for Scotland by virtue of his mother Joy, the daughter of former R&A captain and Stakis chairman Richard Cole-Hamilton – but he re-established himself as Scotland’s first choice No 8 in the recent autumn internationals, and clubs abroad were known to be approaching him as his first pro contract with Edinburgh was up at the end of the current season.
“I think the new coaching team has been a great change for the club,” Denton told Edinburgh’s official club website. “They’ve been a big influence on me already, I’ve a huge amount of respect for them and I think they are the right people to take this club forward.
“There is a very bright future for this club and I want to be part of it.”
Solomons has made Denton one of his key projects since arriving at Murrayfield, looking to broaden his skills beyond the ball-carrying which made such an impact at the start of his career.
The veteran coach said: “What is important for me is his willingness to up his work-rate and to get involved in facets other than the ball carrying, for which he is renowned.
“He has a very promising career ahead of him. He has made a tremendous contribution already this season and will go on to play a very big part in this club going forward.”