Edinburgh takes a gamble with Grant
Edinburgh have taken a gamble ahead of the new season by appointing the young Roddy Grant as captain.
Grant is only 23 years of age and still has a lot of learning to do in a very competitive sport. He has been given a huge amount of extra responsibility for the new season and some have already started to question whether it was the right move.
Grant will take over the captaincy from Mike Blair who stepped down from the role at the end of last season. Grant has since been praised for stating his desire very early on to lead the side in an intense Magners League.
Young captains are nothing new in this sport and it's important to consider if Grant is the right individual to lead the team. There are a few dangers that could develop within the club as older players may feel a little rejected after not being handed the role.
The positives
The odds on positive that you can always be sure of with a new captain is that they will be determined to show their passion and desire. Grant seems like he will throw himself at the captaincy and will try to create a number of positive things for the club.
Many at Edinburgh have already said that he showed leadership qualities from the very first day that he walked through the door at the club, way back in 2009. He may have always though of himself as a leader and the club are simply playing to the best parts of his personality.
He still has time to develop and learn from mistakes. Older captains do not always have this benefit and cannot curb their leadership style late on in their careers because they do not have many playing years left.
Grant said: "This is a proud day and a massively exciting opportunity for me. It's an honour just to be an Edinburgh player, so to be named captain is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can to make a success of the job and to ensure the team has a great season. All the ingredients are there for that to happen."
The negatives
The main negative is that the club have risked alienating some of the older players in the playing squad by giving an important role to someone who they will see as very young and inexperienced.
This could threaten squad harmony because if the team loses the faith of the more experienced players then it can have a damaging effect on morale. This will lead to bad performances and a loss of points.
Head coach Rob Moffat added: "Everything we've seen from Roddy since he came into the Edinburgh fold has shown him to be a mature and confident rugby player who can handle anything that's thrown at him."
Betting advice
Edinburgh are a very old and traditional rugby club and the benefits of this latest news are going to far outweigh anything that could bring the club down. They are a very good punt for the Magners League title because of the depth in the playing squad and if Grant nails the captaincy role then the team will have a very successful season.
The best option in terms of backing individuals is to work out who has scored the most points in the side over the last two or three seasons. This will allow you to make more calculated bets and place a safer one on who will be top scorer at the club by the end of the year.
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