Wasps scrum half, Ben Vellacott, signs with Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby today announced the signing of former Scotland age-grade scrum-half Ben Vellacott, from English Premiership side Wasps.
The livewire half-back, 25, represented Scotland from U17 through to U20 while coming through the ranks at Hartpury College, featuring in the same Junior World Championship side as several of Edinburgh's current crop in 2014.
His senior professional breakthrough came at Gloucester in 2017, from which he went on to score 14 tries in 49 appearances, earning him a move to Wasps in 2019.
The pacy nine pulled on Wasps colours for the first time at the 2019 Premiership 7s, helping the team reach the final of the tournament for a sixth successive year, but an ACL injury ruled him out for six months of the season with his new club.
Since his recovery he has scored twice in 14 appearances at the Coventry-based club.
The former age-grade internationalist couldn’t hide his excitement at the prospect of linking up with old friends at his new club this summer.
He said: “I’m really excited about joining Edinburgh. The recent signings and re-signings show the direction the club want to go in and I’m delighted to be a part of that – as well as exploring a new area with my partner and Frenchie [French Bulldog].
“I believe it’s the perfect time and opportunity for me personally and I’m excited to play for the club and be part of the Guinness PRO14. It’s important to face new challenges in order to grow as person, which excites me.
“My main focus is to play rugby for Edinburgh and hopefully help the team as a whole to progress further.
“I absolutely love attacking rugby but a huge personal progression over the last couple of seasons has been my game management. This is something I believe has really developed and hope to put to good use.
“I’d really like to thank Edinburgh Rugby for this opportunity. I’m incredibly excited to get to Scotland. I also want to say thank you to Wasps Rugby for the last two seasons and my family and friends for their consistent love and support.”
Ben Vellacott
Edinburgh Head Coach, Richard Cockerill, said: “We’re really pleased to announce Ben is joining us.
“His speed, speed of thought and speed of ball make him a real threat behind the scrum, keeping defences honest with attacking variety, which we hope will bring our link players and back-line into play.
“He’s a former Scotland age-grade player so is well known and well-liked in the group and brings some good experience from playing four seasons in the English Premiership and European Cup competitions.
“His profile sits nicely among our other scrum-halves, giving us good depth and variety in that area, which is great for competition and for their development as a group of nines.”