Jacobsen poised to reach historic Milestone

After making his debut for Edinburgh against the touring ACT Brumbies in November 1997, Jacobsen signed as a professional at the start of the 1999/2000 season and has been a valued member of the squad ever since.

During his 11-year-association with Edinburgh, Jacobsen admits he has seen plenty of changes, but stresses that one aspect has remained permanent; his pride in wearing the jersey.

Jacobsen said: "It is difficult to put into words what playing for Edinburgh means to me; I just love being able to represent my city.

"Obviously a lot has changed since I was first involved with Edinburgh, but I have enjoyed every minute of it so far and I'm looking forward to many more years here at the club.

"Reaching my 200th appearance is definitely a big thing for me and my family, but at the end of the day it is just a number.

"With so many hungry young players in the squad I know I have to keep playing well in order to keep my place."

Head coach Andy Robinson congratulated Jacobsen on clocking up a double century in first team appearances and says that is a testament to his character.

Robinson said: "It is a tremendous achievement and one that Allan can be really proud of.

"From my experience of working with Allan over the past year, the aspects that have really stood out have been his work ethic and attitude.

"He rolls his sleeves up and leads from the front. His experience has also proved really valuable in such a relatively young team."

Jacobsen starts in a line-up without first team captain Mike Blair and second row Ben Gissing and Robinson highlighted the need to rest players during the season.

He added: "It is incredibly important that we manage every member of our squad efficiently otherwise we will lose key players through injury for long periods during the season.

"We have made the decision to give Mike a week to rest and also named Giss (Ben Gissing) amongst the replacements in order to ensure they remain injury-free."

Summer signing Jim Hamilton makes his first start of the season after coming off the bench during last week's win over Scarlets.

Lock Steve Turnbull (fractured ankle) joins Calum MacRae (hip), Simon Webster (hip), David Callam (hip), Simon Cross (ribs) and Roland Reid (knee) on the injury list.

Meanwhile, long term casualties Ben Cairns (knee ligament), Ross Rennie (knee), John Houston (pelvic) and Matt Dey (shoulder) are still on the mend.


Edinburgh Rugby Club squad to play Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade (Friday 26 September, kick off 7.30pm)

15 Chris Paterson
14 Andrew Turnbull
13 Hugo Southwell
12 Nick De Luca
11 Mark Robertson
10 Phil Godman
9 Greig Laidlaw

1 Allan Jacobsen
2 Ross Ford
3 Geoff Cross
4 Craig Hamilton
5 Jim Hamilton
6 Matt Mustchin
7 Alan MacDonald
8 Allister Hogg (captain)

Substitutes: Andrew Kelly, Gavin Kerr, Ben Gissing, Scott Newlands, Ben Meyer, David Blair, Jim Thompson