Just two days after being named in the Scotland squad for the RBS 6 Nations, Ross Rennie has been deemed surplus to requirements at Edinburgh.
Rennie and Stuart McInally, formerly a back rower but now converting into a hooker, will join former Scotland and Edinburgh coach Andy Robinson at Bristol on loan for the rest of the season.
In Rennie’s case, however, it would seem the 20-times capped open-side may have played his last game for the club he first joined in 2005.
The 27-year-old has had an injury-plagued last five years with two season-long absences including one just last year, and although he returned to the Edinburgh set-up this season, he has been kept out of the side by Roddy Grant in recent games.
Out of contract at the end of the season, he’s taken the chance to go to the Championship club where Robinson is director of rugby.
“Edinburgh is my home town and I love the club. It’s been my life for the last 10 years but I think the time is right to have a new challenge,” he said.
“I know the direction Bristol want to go and the plans that Andy [Robinson] has, so it’s an exciting time to join the club. There’s an important few months coming up and I hope that I can contribute to the cause.”
Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons said that the deal was “by mutual consent”.
“It has been a challenging couple of years for Ross, who recently returned from long-term knee and shoulder injuries. A fresh start will re-energise him.”
Rennie was named ahead of Grant in the Scotland squad on Wednesday with national coach Scott Johnson indicating he was still second choice for the open-side slot behind captain Kelly Brown.
McInally’s case is different as the former Scotland Under-20 captain is building experience at hooker having played on the flank and No 8 all the way through age-grade rugby.
The 23-year-old, who was capped for Scotland A in the back row, opted to switch to the front row this season and has been playing in the British and Irish Cup for Edinburgh Academicals.
The switch to Bristol is to hopefully give him more game time at a higher level in the English Championship.
“I’ve want to play professional rugby for Edinburgh and international rugby for Scotland at hooker, so the opportunity to get regular game time at Bristol was something I jumped at,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting started and helping the club achieve a top four finish in the Championship.”
Solomons added: “Stuart’s loan spell will allow him to continue his development in a new position in a fiercely competitive, and often forward dominated league.”
Meanwhile Edinburgh have kept the same starting squad for Sunday’s monster mission to try to beat Munster at Thomond Park and continue their interest in Europe after the Six Nations.
Solomons has given a vote of confidence to the same 23 players who took Edinburgh to victory over Perpignan last week.
The capital side need to beat Munster in Limerick which they last did in October 2006 with a bonus and see an unlikely succession of results go their way if they are to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the second time in three years.
A win or draw would almost certainly secure a quarter-final in the Amlin Cup, and there’s a slight chance they could still win a quarter-final in the second tier competition if they were to take a single bonus point away from Thomond Park.
Solomons is still most concerned with the team’s gradual improvement rather than any quarter-final, and the seriousness of the task at hand this Sunday.
“Munster are one of the top teams in Europe with a tremendous tradition and heritage; they are notoriously difficult in Limerick and are fighting to secure a home quarter-final. The challenges don’t get much bigger than this.
“In round one we showed that we had advanced enough as a team to beat them but, rest assured, Munster will be keen to set the record straight, I have no doubt about that.
“The important thing for us is that, since then, we have continued to improve as a team and are looking forward to this challenge.”
Edinburgh: Jack Cuthbert; Dougie Fife, Nick De luca, Ben Atiga, Tom Brown; Greig Tonks, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Alasdair Dickinson, Ross Ford, Willem Nel; Grant Gilchrist, Izak Van der Westhuizen; Cornell Du Preez, Roddy Grant, David Denton. Replacements: Alex Lutui, Wicus Blaauw, Geoff Cross, Ollie Atkins, Tomas Leonardi, Grayson Hart, Carl Bezuidenhout, Joaquin Dominguez.