EDINBURGH Rugby today received a major boost when Test centre Nick De Luca signed a two-year contract extension.
De Luca, who won his first Scotland caps against France and Wales last season and is currently on the tour of Argentina, is thrilled to have settled his immediate rugby future.
He said: "Edinburgh is the right environment for me and I am absolutel
y delighted to have extended my contract for another two years. I genuinely believe Edinburgh is a club that is going places.
"When I rejoined the team last summer (from Borders) nobody outside the camp predicted we would finish as high as we eventually did in the table (fourth).
"But there is a tremendous amount of self belief in the Edinburgh squad and that can't be underestimated. That was shown with some of our defensive performances at places like Newport Gwent Dragons and at home against Leinster.
"The fact is that we are a very young side, so everything points to this team continuing to improve and challenging for silverware.
"I really enjoyed my first season back at Edinburgh and I'm looking forward to enjoying that same level of success over the next few years."
Underlining De Luca's importance to the team Edinburgh head coach Andy Robinson said: "As soon as I joined in October, I recognised what an exciting rugby player Nick is.
"He was short-listed for the Player of the Year award and that was a fitting tribute to the impact he had on Edinburgh's season.
"Not only does he have fantastic skill levels but he also has a tremendous amount of physicality which makes him an asset to any team's midfield.
"He is an attentive student of the game and his keenness to learn suggests he will keep on improving and become a key player for both Edinburgh and Scotland."
Chief executive Nic Cartwright endorsed that view and believes De Luca's eye-catching displays make him a firm favourite with the fans.
Cartwright said: "It is great news for Edinburgh that we have managed to secure the services of Nick for a further two years.
"The skill and vibrancy he brings to the team is invaluable and supporters enjoy watching him play because he is such an exciting player."
Scottish Rugby chief executive Gordon McKie added: "I'm delighted to hear that another one of our young national squad members has committed himself to continue playing professional rugby in Scotland. This further demonstrates our stated intention to retain a significant number of our Scotland internationalists playing in this country and thus help us build upon the excellent results achieved in the 2007-08."
The full article contains 446 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
