The ‘special’ reason why English fly-half couldn’t refuse his switch to Edinburgh, a team that ‘has a lot of respect for him’
New Edinburgh signing James Grayson on debut last Friday and, inset, his coach Sean Everitt
After a whirlwind of a summer, James Grayson has made a storming start with Edinburgh. The former Northampton out-half enjoyed a dream debut for his new club last weekend, helping them open their United Rugby Championship campaign with a 34-29 bonus-point victory away to Ulster.
He brought assured tactical control at No.10 and also landed six shots at goal during Friday night’s notable triumph in Belfast. The son of former England international Paul Grayson, the 28-year-old has come on board from Japanese club Mitsubishi Dynaboars, having previously had a long spell with the Saints.
“I was injured at the start of pre-season, and then I got married, so it was a whole whirlwind of a summer,” he said. “I got up here a couple of months ago and then had a wedding, which was fun. I probably didn’t envisage the wedding being in the middle of pre-season when we booked it just over a year ago.
“But the club were brilliant in allowing me a couple of days off at either end to get everything sorted. Now my wife has moved up, I feel like we can really dig our teeth into this next chapter. I’ve got a ring to wear and so has she, so we are both really happy.”
“What a brilliant place to come and play…”
Outlining his reasons for switching to the Scottish capital, the ex-England U20 international said: “Firstly, I thought what a brilliant place to come and play rugby. I had the lucky opportunity to live in Tokyo for three years and Edinburgh, as the next place in our journey, is an amazing place to come and live.
“Once I did a bit more looking into the league and the club, it looked like a really good opportunity for me playing-wise. There is a lot of potential in the squad. It’s also special for my family and me. My great granny was a very proud Scottish lady, and I know she would have been delighted to see me make this move.
“I have been away for a while. After three years overseas, the time feels right to return closer to home, and the opportunity to play in the URC was a big factor in my decision.
“As the next step in my career, coming back to Europe and trying to fight to be first-choice 10 at a brilliant club is something that excited me. It’s been really good to settle in, get my feet on the ground, get into the club and get stuck in with everyone. I am enjoying it.”
Reflecting on his time in Japan, Grayson added: “I loved it and played loads more rugby than I did at Northampton. As a club, Mitsubishi beat some teams they had never beaten before while I was there and we had our highest finish in the league, which was amazing to be a part of.
“We lived in Fujisawa, which is a stunning place down by the coast, about 45 minutes from Tokyo. Walking on the beach with Mount Fuji in the background, it was just a special place to be and something we will both definitely take with us forever.
“Making the friendships and connections we did there was amazing. I had people from the club come over for my wedding, which shows the level of friendships we made over there.”
Now the Northampton-born playmaker has begun a new chapter with Edinburgh, and he has certainly hit the ground running. Commenting on the victory over Ulster, he said: “It was really good to be out on the field and I’m just happy I could come out and play with the boys and get a good result away from home.”
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Edinburgh raced into a 34-5 lead and then held on for the win amid an Ulster revival. “It was a bit helter-skelter,” said Grayson. “There were 60 minutes of really good stuff and a good game plan.
“Then Ulster got the momentum and they are a tough team to stop when they get on a rumble like that, so I am just grateful that we held on at the end. We want to play fast, but that doesn’t mean we have to go away from being physical and direct at times as well. It’s about finding a balance.
“We probably overplayed a little bit in the last 15 to 20 minutes and didn’t apply as much pressure as we did in the first half, so definitely a lot for us to learn, but loads of good bits in there as well.”
Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt is delighted to have Grayson on board. “It’s been great. We’re really pleased to have added him to the group,” said the South African. “He is an impressive player, someone who reads the game well, and he comes with a lot of experience.
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“He played 100 games in the Prem for Northampton and played with some really good players in Japan as well. He has shown good leadership within the group. The team has got a lot of respect for him, and he marshalled his troops really well on Friday night.
“Not only is he a good distributor, but he has also got a good kicking game as well. He brings real quality with the boot, both from hand and at goal. The three points he kept on knocking over helped us turn the scoreboard over.”
Edinburgh will now look to back up their opening day URC victory when they play host to the Stormers at the Hive Stadium on Friday night.
“One thing we need to work on is the consistency of our performances from week to week,” said Everitt.
“That’s let us down in the past, where we are high one week and then down the next. We have got to build on this win, keep our feet on the ground and move forward in a positive way.”