South African-born Scottish international prop Allan Dell is leaving Edinburgh at the end of the season to join current English Championship leaders London Irish.
However, claims that another South African front-row forward is set to come to the Scottish capital were played down yesterday.
Edinburgh’s head coach Richard Cockerill indicated that 26-year-old Dell was leaving with the club’s blessing, saying: “Allan won’t be with us next season. As far as I know he’s signed a contract with London Irish. It’s a good opportunity for him and he’s got family that have just moved to London, so it’s turned into a perfect storm for him, he’s had a good offer. There are family reasons that work with that as well. That’s exactly where we’re at.”
While he meanwhile did not deny interest in Southern Kings hooker Michael Willemse after officials in South Africa partly confirmed local reports that he was making the move, by admitting that he was in talks with Edinburgh, Cockerill claimed that the 25-year-old was just one of a number of possible targets, saying: “We’re talking to lots of players, he’s one of them. We live in a world of social media where rumours get spun around the whole time. I don’t have anything to tell, really.”
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