One of the strange existential quandaries facing the Guinness Pro12 is coming to an end: Edinburgh Rugby have today confirmed they are ceasing their miserable tradition of playing their home games at Murrayfield. The club announced on their website that they have formed a partnership with George Watson's College to play their home fixtures at the school's Myreside ground from January 2017.
Until now, Edinburgh have been playing at the 67,800 capacity Murrayfield, and average an attendance of just 4,000, meaning that their home games have oft-resembled Manuel Pellegrini's farewell address to Manchester City: a terribly sad occasion taking place in a vacuum. Temporary seating will increase the capacity of Myrseide to 6,000, meaning that an away trip to Edinburgh will be far more difficult from next season.
The club's managing director Jonny Petrie told the BBC that:
This is about building a strong future for the club at a home ground in the city that better suits our needs and improves the match day experience for fans and players alike. Having a smaller venue, with the crowds we are getting just now - and being able to grow that, will be much better for us.
That's been a challenge at Murrayfield when sometimes the crowd gets lost.We'll have a home venue the players can really indentify with, they can become closer to the supporters, and it becomes a more intimidating place for teams to come as well.
Edinburgh did play one game at the ground last season: a 24-16 victory over Ospreys.
