Neil Cochrane (born 4 January 1984 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

) is a retired Scottish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. Cochrane played for

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

from 2014 until his retirement at the end of the 2018 season having spent the early parts of his career in England. A former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Scotland under 21s, he was known as a hard-hitting

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

with plenty of pace and power.

Background

When he was fifteen he took up rugby at

Boroughmuir High School Boroughmuir High School is a non-denominational secondary school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Buildings It was founded in 1904, and located at 22–24 Warrender Park Crescent, overlooking Bruntsfield Links, in a building designed by John Alexande ...

after his friends convinced him to play in their team. Cochrane initially played rugby union at

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

before moving to flanker. Whilst playing for Boroughmuir he was spotted by the Under 16s State School Scotland Rugby Union Team, which led to an academy place with

. In 2003 Cochrane was called up to the Scotland Under-21s, captaining the team between 2004 and 2005.

Club career

Rotherham Titans

In 2005 he was offered his first professional contract by

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

side the

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

. During his three years at Rotherham, Cochrane made 83 appearances at flanker scoring 70 points and was voted player of the year in his final season for them.

Doncaster Knights

In 2008 Cochrane signed a full-time contract with the

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

where once again supporters voted him Player of the Year in 2010. During his three years at the Knights, Cochrane made 75 appearances scoring 60 points.

Bedford Blues

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

moved in to sign Cochrane from Doncaster Knights at the beginning of the 2011–12 RFU Championship where he changed from the position of flanker to hooker. Bedford Director of Rugby

Mike Rayer Michael Anthony Rayer (born 21 July 1965)
Scrum.com is a former

hooker for the Blues, who secured second position in the 2011–12 RFU Championship table with a win over

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

in the last game of the season. Whilst in preparations for the semifinals of the Championship playoffs against

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

Bedford agreed a new 12-month deal with Cochrane to continue playing in his new position for the 2012–13 Championship season.

London Wasps

On 3 May 2013, Cochrane leaves

for

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

, who compete in the

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

for the 2013–14 season.

Edinburgh Rugby

On 27 January 2014, Cochrane returns to Scotland to rejoin with his hometown club

for the 2014–15 season.

International career

He was called up to the senior

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

squad for the

2018 Six Nations Championship The 2018 Six Nations Championship (known as the Natwest 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations. The championship wa ...

References

External links

Bedford Blues profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, Neil 1984 births Living people Bedford Blues players Doncaster R.F.C. players Rotherham Titans players Rugby union players from Edinburgh Scottish rugby union players People educated at Boroughmuir High School Rugby union hookers