John Barclay to leave Edinburgh this summer
- Published
Due to international commitments and injury, Barclay has played just 14 times in two seasons with Edinburgh
Former Scotland captain John Barclay will leave Edinburgh when his contract concludes, head coach Richard Cockerill has confirmed.
The back row, 33, returned to Scotland in 2018 but a ruptured achilles ruled him out of the majority of his first season.
Barclay recovered and made the World Cup squad last autumn, before retiring from Scotland duty after 76 caps.
He has only played 14 times for Edinburgh.
National commitments and injury, plus competition for places with Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson, Magnus Bradbury and now Nick Haining have limited Barclay's minutes.
The former Glasgow and Scarlets player's contract is due to expire in the summer and with the current rugby season on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, it is likely Barclay has played his last game for Edinburgh.
Centre Matt Scott's contract is also up this summer.
"We are probably 95% done recruitment-wise and probably even a bit more than that," Cockerill said. "If we don't recruit another player now before the start of next season we'll be more than happy with what we have got.
"We have a small bit of budget left but financially it's not the right thing to be doing."