RaboDirect PRO12
Edinburgh sign former Lion Titterrell
ESPN Staff
August 1, 2012
Leeds hooker Andy Titterrell takes a breather, Leeds Carnegie v Bath Rugby, Guinness Premiership, Headingley Carnegie Stadium, Leeds, England, September 5, 2010
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Players/Officials: Andy Titterrell
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Teams: Edinburgh | Scotland

Edinburgh have signed former England international hooker Andy Titterrell on a one-year deal.



Capped five times and also a member of the British & Irish Lions squad that toured New Zealand in 2005, the 31-year-old has been brought in as cover for injured hooker Steven Lawrie, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since December.



Lawrie, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club last month, is expected to be absent at the start of the season, with head coach Michael Bradley opting to bring in Titterrell, also a Premiership winner with Sale Sharks in 2005-06, bringing to restore the club's depth in the position.



Titterrell will compete with fellow Lion and Scotland captain Ross Ford and young prospects Alun Walker, who recently graduated from the club's elite development player programme and Scotland U20 hooker George Turner.


Bradley, said: "We're very happy to have secured the services of such an experienced campaigner. It is disappointing that Steven [Lawrie] won't be fit for the start of the season, however this appointment means we keep our strength and depth in a crucial position for the start of the season and through the Tests in autumn when Ross is on Scotland duty."

Titterrell worked with forwards' coach, Neil Back, at Leeds Carnegie, and also played club rugby at Saracens, Waterloo and Gloucester before moving to Leeds where made 40 appearances in two-and-a-half years.



His final season included a loan spell back at Sale Sharks, before he requested to end his term at Leeds a season early to pursue a return to the top tier of northern hemisphere rugby.



He said: "I'm absolutely delighted with the opportunity to represent a club like Edinburgh Rugby in the RaboDirect PRO12, a league packed with some of the most successful teams in the last decade of European rugby, and also the Heineken Cup, as we seek to build on the club's great run in the competition last season.



"We've some big pre-season matches coming up against English opposition who I know well so my focus is really honed in on getting to the know the guys in the squad, settling into the training routine at Murrayfield, and using these matches as a springboard to a big year with the club."

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