Magnus Bradbury loses Edinburgh captaincy

Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has stripped Scotland international Magnus Bradbury of the club's captaincy but insists he is ready to give the flanker a second chance.

The decision follows after Edinburgh have suspended the 22-year-old pending an internal investigation after he suffered a head injury while on a night out drinking that forced him to miss the European Challenge Cup encounter against London Irish last weekend.

Bradbury, who joined Edinburgh in 2015 was announced as the captain at the start of the season when Cockerill took in charge of the club but his late-night mishap meant Fraser McKenzie will replace the former Scotland Under 20 as skipper for the remainder of the season.

Another issue Cockerill will have to deal with it is the suspension of John Hardie by both the club and the country. Even though the former Leicester Tigers boss was asked to stay away from the internal investigation, reports suggest that it is in relation to alleged cocaine use.

"I'm not allowed to comment on that," said the former England hooker when asked about Hardie's situation. "We'll just get on with the playing parts and try to leave this distraction aside.

"Of course it's a distraction because two of our guys are unavailable to play. That's going to be a distraction in itself but guys have stepped up and thankfully we've performed reasonably well so other people will get their opportunities. Like anything else life will go on.

"We've dealt with Magnus' situation. He's unavailable for selection because of his head-knock but he'll be available for Ospreys. Whether he gets in the team or not will depend on how people perform.

"How challenging has it been dealing with this? It's just normal. It's the world we live in. People make mistakes and you deal with them as you see fit.

"The current situation is certainly not ideal. I've stood Magnus down as captain because I'm not going to accept that behaviour from my captain away from the field.

"The players are very aware of what I expect from them. They're adults and have to make the right decisions. They know how to behave and if they choose to behave outside of that then clearly I have to manage it.

"But I also understand humans make mistakes.

"I've been there myself as a player. I'm sure everyone in the room has been there at some point when they wake up on a Sunday morning regretting what they've done on a Saturday night. That's part of growing up.

"I will help guys that get themselves into trouble because people make mistakes. If we all got chucked aside after a mistake none of us would be sat here now.

"I need guys to be honest if they've done something wrong and we can deal with that, but people have to be accountable for what they do and take responsibility. Simple as that."