Nick Haining is the latest internationalist to re-commit to Edinburgh, having signed a contract extension with the club for an undisclosed length of time.
The 30-year-old Australian-born back-row joined the capital outfit from Bristol Bears during the summer of 2019 and has played 19 matches for Richard Cockerill’s side so far.
He qualifies for Scotland through his Dundonian grandmother, and his form during his first six months at the club earned him a call-up to Gregor Townsend’s 2020 Six Nations squad. He has now been capped five times, and although injury has limited his game-time this season, he says he is now determined to fight his way back up the back-row pecking order for both club and country.
“Moving to Edinburgh was always going to be challenging in terms of getting a spot in the team with so many talented individuals in the back-row,” said Haining. “It’s really pushed me and helped me continually develop my game and constantly improve.
“It’s fiercely competitive and that level of competition really keeps you on your toes. Having that competitive edge in training is hugely beneficial and helps us put our best performance out on the pitch.”
“I’m really looking forward to being rid of these little niggles and to getting back to playing my natural game with no hinderance, string together a good run of games for Edinburgh, and just enjoy playing.”
In the coming weeks, only subscribers will be able to comment on The National articles. Subscribe now or log in to make sure you stay a part of the conversation.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions. What should we do with our second vote in 2021? What happens if Westminster says no to indyref2?
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversation, register under fake names, and post vile abuse. We’ve had hundreds of emails from you complaining about this, asking us to take steps to ensure that these people aren’t given a platform on our site.
We’re listening to you, and here’s how we plan to make that happen.
We have decided to make the ability to comment only available to our 10,000 paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them.
We’ll be monitoring this change over the first few weeks, and we’re keen to know your thoughts. Email us at letters@thenational.scot if you want to have your say.
Callum Baird, Editor of The National