Updated: Ex-Melrose winger Ross McCann one of nine players leaving Edinburgh at end of this United Rugby Championship season
Melrose-born Charlie Shiel and Ross McCann, a former winger for the town’s Greenyards club, are among nine players confirmed as leaving the United Rugby Championship club this summer.
Scrum-half Shiel, 28, has been at the Hive Stadium club since 2016, initially as an academy player, and McCann, also 28, has been a teammate of his since October 2023.
Shiel, son of former Melrose and Scotland centre Graham Shiel, has made 94 appearances for the capital city club, scoring eight tries, and McCann, capped once for the national team in 2024, is on 17, having touched down twice.
Shiel was named as a replacement for Edinburgh’s final game of the championship season, a 26-5 defeat at home to County Galway’s Connacht last Friday in front of a crowd of 7,778, but McCann was out injured.
Hamish Watson, Boan Venter, James Lang, Ben Healy, Sam Skinner, Angus Williams and Mikey Jones are the others moving on.
Wishing them well, head coach Sean Everitt said: “As the season draws to a close, we say farewell to a group of players who have each given so much to this club.
“Every one of them has given their all for the jersey and I want to express my sincere gratitude for the commitment and passion they’ve shown for Edinburgh.
“We wish them nothing but the very best in the next stage of their careers.
Paying tribute to Shiel and McCann, a club spokesperson added: “Shiel has been a committed servant to the capital club across a lengthy association.
“His length-of-the-field solo try away to Connacht last year, a moment that kept Edinburgh’s season alive, will be remembered by supporters for years to come.
“Edinburgh-born McCann arrived at his home-town club in October 2023 following a decorated career on the sevens circuit, representing Scotland and Great Britain, including at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
“His form for Edinburgh earned him a senior Scotland debut against Canada in July 2024, completing a remarkable journey from schoolboy rugby at the city’s Royal High School to full international honours.”
Shiel took over from Hawick’s Hector Patterson at scrum-half 64 minutes into Edinburgh’s 11th loss of the championship season last week on their way to a 12th-placed finish in the table, on 38 points from 18 fixtures.
Patterson, 21, was one of three Borderers in Everitt’s starting line-up, along with fellow ex-Green Darcy Graham on the right wing and Jedburgh’s Glen Young at No 5.
Graham, 28, played for the whole game but Young, 31, went off just ahead of the hour mark, with Callum Hunter-Hill taking his place.
Left-winger Duhan van der Merwe scored the hosts’ only try but it went unconverted, with Josh Ioane, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Joe Joyce and Matthew Devine touching down in the other direction and Sam Gilbert adding three conversions.
Edinburgh’s 2026 awards night followed on Saturday and it saw the accolade for men’s try of the season go to Young for his touchdown during April’s 33-28 win at home to Durban’s Sharks.