Lawrie: “We owe the fans – these four games mean everything.”

Stevie Lawrie has committed his future to Edinburgh Rugby, putting pen to paper on a new deal this week. But for the forwards coach, the contract announcement is secondary to what happens this Friday night against Zebre Parma – and across the three games that follow it.

“Everyone says we’ve got nothing to play for,” Lawrie said. “No – we’ve got everything to play for. Because guess what? You’ve got people that have paid their money, paid their season tickets.

They want to do well.” It is a message he is delivering with conviction, and one that sets the tone for how Edinburgh will approach the final stretch of the season.

For Lawrie, the decision to stay was never really in doubt. “For me, the opportunity at Edinburgh is massive,” he said. “It’s my own club, I see a huge amount of potential.

As much as we’ve been disappointed with how we’ve performed this season, there’s no getting away from that – I see a lot of talent coming through in that pack in particular.

“It was an easy choice and an easy decision to extend. It’s a challenge that I’m excited to go forth with.”

Lawrie’s extension makes him the last remaining member of head coach Sean Everitt’s original coaching staff, with both Brad Davis (Defence Coach) and Tim Sampson (Attack Coach) announced as joining the coaching team for 2026/27.

He is relishing the continuity – and the challenge of building something meaningful over the coming two seasons.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge over the next two years,” he said. “In that pack we’ve got a number of guys that you’ve seen already come through this year — OBL, Liam, Freddy. I’m excited about the guys that we’re bleeding and the guys that we’ve got moving forward. There’s a lot of quality in that pack to work with.”

If there was any doubt about Lawrie’s loyalty to Edinburgh – and to the city itself – a trip to Tynecastle last weekend should settle the matter. With Edinburgh having no European Quarter-Final fixture to prepare for, Lawrie seized the opportunity to introduce Head Coach Sean Everitt to his other great love: Heart of Midlothian.

“I was at the Motherwell game at the weekend, it was epic,” Lawrie grinned. “We were so bad but we made it, it was cool.” The result, a nervy Hearts win, may not have been a classic – but it was enough to convert at least one new fan. “I took Sean and the other coaches as well,” Lawrie confirmed. “He wants to go to the Rangers game now.”

Whether Everitt’s conversion to the maroon cause is complete remains to be seen, but for Lawrie it offered a rare moment of lightness in what has been a challenging season. A two-year extension signed. A Hearts win secured. Not a bad week.

There will be little time for sentimentality, however. This Friday, Edinburgh host Zebre Parma at Hive Stadium in what Lawrie is framing as far more than a dead-rubber end-of-season fixture. With four URC games remaining, he is insistent that these matches carry enormous weight – not just for the standings, but for the character and identity of the club.

He is clear-eyed about what these final games represent beyond the table. With a clutch of young forwards pushing for prominence, the remaining fixtures offer a genuine proving ground – not just to show what Edinburgh’s next generation can do, but to begin shaping the identity the club will carry into next season.

“The last four games are definitely an opportunity,” Lawrie said. “Let’s see our fight. Let’s see our care for the club and see what growth we can show. What we’ve produced hasn’t been good enough. If you keep doing the same stuff, you get the same results. I think it’s quite an exciting challenge over the next four weeks to show that growth in our game model.”

He revealed the coaching staff are also using this period to experiment, with changes being trialled in training around style and game model. “We’re trying a few different things at training around style potentially as well,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to do that too.”

Part of Lawrie’s obvious enthusiasm for the road ahead is rooted in what he sees coming through the ranks. Asked to name the young forwards catching his eye, he rattled off a list with barely a pause – Jamie Stewart, Ewan McVie, Ollie Duncan, Tom Currie, Sam Byrd – before catching himself with a laugh, concerned he might leave someone out.

“There’s a lot coming through,” he said. “Part of the excitement for me is seeing these guys develop, seeing them move on to national honours – but also just playing bloody well for Edinburgh and winning for Edinburgh. That’s what we’re after.”

Development, though, is not a free pass. Lawrie is unambiguous: the environment must demand excellence, not merely nurture potential. “You need both,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s not a development team. You’ve got to get that balance right –  and that’s the focus for us moving forward.”

For a coach who has seen Edinburgh through multiple eras – Richard Cockerill, Mike Blair, Steve Diamond, and now Sean Everitt – Lawrie knows better than most what this club is capable of, and what it still needs to find. He speaks candidly about the need for a clearer, more consistent identity: a relentless edge that opponents feel and supporters can believe in.

“The perception out there at the minute isn’t as positive as we need to make it,” he acknowledged. “It’s because of how we’re playing. We need to find that edge and call a spade a spade.”

The next four games start here. Edinburgh vs Zebre Parma, Hive Stadium, this Friday night.