SCOTLAND sevens star Jim Thompson has received a major boost ahead of this weekend's two day tournament at Murrayfield – a two year contract from Edinburgh Rugby.
And the 23-year-old full back immediately set his sights on celebrating in style, saying: "The plan is to achieve something special at the weekend. We did fairly well at Twickenham last weekend and we made it through to the quarter finals.
"We on
ly missed out on a semi-final place after conceding a last minute try against Fiji. So we are aiming to get out of our group."
The son of racing commentator Derek Thompson and grandson of commentating legend Bill McLaren says of his deal:
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting a contract, but I was very pleased to be offered one. Now I'm just looking forward to getting involved next season."
Thompson is following in the footsteps of his cousin, Scotland scrum half Rory Lawson, who spent three years in the black and red jersey of Edinburgh before moving south to join Gloucester.
Thompson added: "Rory is really happy for me; he used to play for Edinburgh and he is delighted that I'm getting an opportunity with the team."
Thompson has already represented Edinburgh in the opening Celtic League fixture at Leinster this season but most of his season has been spent with Heriot's.
He adds: "Even though it was for only 10 minutes at the start of the season, playing for Edinburgh in the Magners League was a good experience.
"It gave me an insight as to what level you need to be at.
"Playing for the sevens team has helped a lot; it has involved travelling and playing in massive stadia."
National Academy head coach Steve Gemmell, who is also in charge of Scotland's 7s squad, praised the contribution of Thompson:
Gemmell said: "I think Jim is someone who will make an impact at Edinburgh. His contract is a fitting reward for the effort he has put in over the past season.
"He has done really well. He came into the system fairly late, but he has performed really well for us on the Sevens circuit and developed his game.
"He has performed consistently well at Heriot's. He was one of their best performers at the Cup Final and he thoroughly deserves his opportunity at Edinburgh."
The full article contains 396 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
