David Kelso
Rugby League will break new ground next year when its Magic Weekend' is staged in Scotland for the first time in a two-year agreement.

Murrayfield will be the venue for a full round of engage Super League matches on May 2 and 3, and again 12 months later.

It will be the stadium's first involvement in the 13-a-side code since the 2002 Challenge Cup Final was staged at the Scottish Rugby Union's headquarters during Wembley's refurbishment.

Sally Bolton, a director of the Rugby Football League, said: "A number of cities had expressed an interest, but we believe Edinburgh has all the right ingredients. The concept of the Magic Weekend is all about taking the sport on theroad to prestigious and exciting locations."

Gordon McKie, chief executive of the SRU, added: "We are thrilled to have secured another major sporting event for Murrayfield and Edinburgh, underlining our commitment to hosting world-class premium events."

Paul Bush, chief executive of EventScotland, said: "This is a fantastic coup and testament to the strength of partnership shown by ourselves, Scottish Rugby, City of Edinburgh Council, VisitScotland and the Edinburgh Convention Bureau.

"The event has proved a huge success over the last couple of years in Cardiff, and, with estimates of the economic impact standing in the region of £10m for 2008, and we aim to continue building on this success."

n Brian Smith, the Australia-born London Irish director of rugby, has been appointed England's rugby union attack coach.

He immediately joins the management team led by Martin Johnson after the RFU were able to negotiate his release from the Exiles.

Johnson said: "The appointment of Brian is great news for England as we look forward to the increased time we have with the players under the new agreement with Premier Rugby.

"Brian is a top attack coach and I'm sure he will be a real asset to us. His appointment finalises the senior coaching team for next season."

Smith said: "The opportunity to coach Test rugby comes along rarely in one's career, so I'm looking forward to my new position with England. It's an exciting time to be involved."