Congratulations to Jamie Sole who reached an incredibly rare milestone of 200 competitive 1st XV appearances for Edinburgh Accies on Saturday 28th October 2023. Jamie is one of our most successful players and captains and a firm Accies favourite. He captained our 1st XV as we secured promotion to the Premiership in 2018 as champions of Division 1 in a season which also included a memorable victory over Heriots in the Scottish Cup and saw only 2 competitive losses.

Jamie Sole’s contribution to Edinburgh Accies over the past decade has been outstanding and cannot be overstated. His attitude, ability, leadership and consistency are always first class and he is a shining example to all his teammates of what playing for Accies means - David McIvor

Soley is the type of bloke who put his body on the line week in, week out for the team and the club. He’s a natural leader and players look to him in the tough times. The best decision in his career was realising he couldn’t kick and was much better suited to the back row! Congratulations on reaching a tremendous milestone; something I know the Sole’s will be very proud of - Callum Black

Of course, the Sole family name is synonymous with the Club and father David introduced Jamie to Accies very early as a part of our Minis section in 1994. He started out as a full-back and his first taste of success with our 1st XV was in 2010-11 during an almost un-beaten league campaign to secure promotion to the premiership.

Jamie arrived at Accies looking even younger than he does now (if that is possible). I remember shortly after his arrival lining him up in one of the tackling drills and thinking I would give him the message. Unfortunately, I was left hanging on to one of his legs as he had a long, powerful stride. I knew then he was going to be a great player for us. He was a powerful full back in the years I played, always retaining the ability to break the first tackle. He eventually saw the light and moved to the back row which is where all rugby players aspire to be, and has been immense in his contribution to the club - Dan Teague

In a unique season structure, our 1st XV would face the bottom four Premiership teams to determine promotion and it is a mark of the strength of that squad that we only lost once against them. Jamie’s performances were key and it was not long until Jamie had the opportunity to test himself as a professional with Newcastle Falcons - an opportunity he grasped, highlighted with a British & Irish Cup Final selection - before returning to Accies and to deciding to get a bit closer to the action.

Jamie would move from back-three to the back-row and as we all know made an exceptional job of it - proving as adept in the breakdown and tight contact as he was in the wider channels. His return to Accies also brought a fresh impetus around the culture and the social side of the club which we are still seeing the benefits of today. The successful launch of our first Ladies Night which Jamie was instrumental in driving a particular highlight - budgies and bow-ties anyone!

Jamie would mature quickly as a back-row and became captain in 2016 while we were once again in the second division. Jamie would lead the team to a promotion play-off defeat against Hawick supported by former captain Greg Campbell before he retired fully the season after.

I did not take a great deal to do with Jamie when he was a back, he then moved to the forwards and that changed things. Very unassuming, did not talk a big game but delivered one, understood and bought into the team and the club. Enjoyed the social side of the game, one of those boys you were happy to see on the team sheet alongside you - Greg Campbell

We would go one better the season after and Jamie would continue to develop, richly deserving multiple player of the year awards and being capped for the Scottish Club International side. Jamie would step down from captaincy to balance career and family but has remained a committed and vital member of the squad. His 200 competitive 1st XV appearances is second only to Greg Campbell (201) in our record books and is a remarkable achievement by a remarkable player, captain and Accie.

Accies are a club steeped in history, renowned for our welcoming environment and passionate and enjoyable approach to rugby on and off the field. Jamie has epitomised this throughout his career to date and we are sure will continue to do so for some time. The whole club are incredibly proud of Jamie and I am sure everyone that ever played with him feels the same as our current 1st XV captain:

It is hard to imagine another player having as significant an influence on a team as Soley has on ours. The one player every Accie hopes to see on the team sheet on a Saturday, and I suspect the one that our opposition hopes is absent. His contribution to the club cannot be overstated and I feel extremely fortunate to have shared a dressing room with him for the last 5 or so years. A special bloke is our Soley, and a phenomenal player - Jamie Loomes