Leinster, Munster and Ulster are familiar faces when it comes to the Guinness PRO14 Final Series but Edinburgh’s arrival as a major force was one of the stories of the 2019/20 season. The Scottish outfit topped Conference B with 11 wins, finishing ahead of Munster, and that success has led Richard Cockerill to be named the Guinness PRO14 Coach of the Season. Edinburgh’s evolution from sleeping giant to major players has been gradual but since Cockerill’s arrival, they have travelled in just one direction. The Englishman joined Edinburgh in 2017 after a 12-year spell coaching at Leicester Tigers, including seven as head coach. There he won three English Premiership titles and made it to the final of the European Champions Cup, while as a player he won 27 England caps. Yet while Cockerill was forging a reputation as one of English rugby’s brightest young coaches, Edinburgh were drifting in the bottom half of the then-PRO12. Between 2010-2017, they failed to finish higher than eighth. When Cockerill arrived and the 14 clubs were split into two conferences, things changed.
