Staying home: One-club man Gilchrist signs on for 16th season
22 Apr 2026Double centurion Grant Gilchrist has signed a one-year contract extension, committing his future to his boyhood club for a 16th season of professional rugby.
The Scotland lock – who made his professional debut against Cardiff Rugby in 2011 to become Edinburgh player #1143 – came through the ranks at Alloa RFC and Stirling County and has long since cemented his place as one of the greatest players in the club’s history.
Gilchrist, 35, made his 231st appearance for Edinburgh against Zebre Parma last weekend, sitting second on the club’s all-time appearance list – behind only Allan Jacobsen, who made 283 appearances for his hometown club before retiring in 2013.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Gilchrist has been a driving force for Edinburgh this season: playing in 11 games, starting every one.
He has carried that form into the international arena, starting for Scotland against New Zealand and Argentina in the Autumn Nations Series and featuring in four Guinness Six Nations fixtures against Italy, Wales, France and Ireland.
In the defeat to Ireland at the Aviva Stadium, Gilchrist made his 88th Test appearance for Scotland, breaking Scott Murray’s record – which had stood for almost 20 years – to become his country’s most-capped lock of all time.
On committing for another year, Gilchrist said: “This club is everything to me – it always has been. I’ve never wanted to play anywhere else, and that hasn’t changed. As long as I feel I can compete at the highest level and give everything I’ve got for Edinburgh, I’ll keep going. The day I can’t do that is the day I’ll walk away – but that day hasn’t come yet.
“I still feel in a great place physically and I’m really motivated going into next season. There’s also a responsibility I feel to help the next generation of players coming through – to pass on what I’ve learned at this club. That matters to me. Signing again was honestly a no-brainer.”
Gilchrist reached double centurion status in April 2024, becoming only the fourth player in the club’s history to do so when he started against Hollywoodbets Sharks in the EPCR Challenge Cup Quarter-Final. He joined club legends Allan Jacobsen, Chris Paterson and WP Nel in that exclusive group.
In the BKT United Rugby Championship, Gilchrist is in elite company across the competition’s history, with only two other locks having played more than 15 seasons for a single team – Devin Toner (17 seasons with Leinster) and Alun Wyn Jones (19 seasons with Ospreys).
His new deal runs through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, where, should he be selected, Gilchrist would become only the second men’s player in Scottish rugby history to appear at four Rugby World Cups – following in the footsteps of legendary Edinburgh and Scotland full-back Chris Paterson.
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “Grant is one of Edinburgh Rugby’s greatest ever players – I don’t think there’s any argument about that. But what makes him special is that he makes it easy to say that week in, week out, because he never gives you a reason to think otherwise.
“It’s still a genuine pleasure to coach him every single week. His leadership is so vital to everything we do – on the pitch, in the changing room, around the whole squad. He sets a standard and the players around him rise to it. To get him locked in for another season is brilliant news for this club.”
