Saracens clash no dead rubber for Edinburgh with home draw on the line
EDINBURGH have already qualified for the knock- out phase of the Champions Cup but there is still an awful lot riding on their final pool match against Saracens at the DAM Health Stadium tomorrow evening.
Not only would a win significantly bolster their chances of enjoying a home draw in the last 16, a positive result would also provide a timely boost to momentum and morale for the capital side as they enter the business end of the URC season.
After a tricky November and December, during which they managed just one win from six games, 2023 has started in promising fashion for Mike Blair’s side with back- toback wins over Zebre at home in the URC and Castres away in the Champions Cup last weekend, but beating the runaway leaders of the English Premiership would be a real statement result.
Blair has underlined the importance of this match by picking his strongest available team, including Pierre Schoeman, Dave Cherry, WP Nel, Sam Skinner, Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie, Luke Crosbie and Blair Kinghorn, who were all named in S c ot la nd’s Six Na t ions training squad.
Hamish Watson, who has been out of action since November with concussion, was also named in that 40- strong national group on Wednesday but still isn’t quite ready to lace up the boots for a competitive match. The plan is for him to get a hit- out against the Sharks next weekend ahead of Scotland’s match against England the following Saturday.
“He’s been training fully with us contact- wise this week and he trained fully last week bar the contact stuff, so he’s definitely nearing a return,” explained Blair.
Duhan van der Merwe is the other missing Scotland squad member, with Blair revealing that the winger is getting married back in his native South Africa this weekend instead, having booked the occasion before the start of the season when he was on the books at Worcester, meaning that he expected this to be a Challenge Cup rather than a Champions Cup weekend.
“It’s bloody difficult as a pro player, let alone an international player to find a window, so we knew this was part of the deal when we signed him,” said Blair. “He was pretty gutted that it has ended up clashing with a game like this, but we’ve got to realise these guys are human.
“Hopefully the fact that he’s getting married and had some sun will put a smile on his face and he’ll come back and perform really well for Scotland and Edinburgh.
“I think he’s having a 12- hour honeymoon! But he’s been there since Saturday. He wasn’t available to us last week because of his ankle so we let him go a little bit earlier.
“So, he’s had some time away and I believe that as long as you get payback from the players then it’s important to look after them, and Duhan is someone who I believe that if you look after him right then he’ll look after you.”
Asked if van der Merwe will also play against the Stormers, Blair replied: “It’s an ongoing discussion. He has to get through his rehab stuff [ from the ankle injury which has side- lined him the last three weeks], then have some training with Scotland and we’ll see what the decision is after that.”
On the reverse side of the coin, Mark Bennett was one of the more notable omissions from Scotland’s Six Nations squad, and Blair has backed the centre to shake off the disappointment by producing a big performance this weekend.
“Mark wants to play, he wants rhythm in his game because that’s how he finds form,” said Blair. “He has done some excellent stuff in the past few games, and he is really important for us in terms of his leadership, how he talks, and the balance of his game as well.
“He is, naturally, really disappointed – but he is also quite philosophical. He’s said he just wants to be in charge of what he can do and if he doesn’t get selected as a result of that then so be it. It’s a great attitude and shows a large amount of maturity.
“He’s aware it is only the opinions of two or three people that means he’s not in the squad. As long as he is enjoying himself and contributing then he can accept it.”
Blair added that Bennett’s positive approach has boosted the whole squad. “We talk of the club about behaviours being contagious and Mark being like that will rub off on players like Jamie Hodgson and Glen Young, who also missed out on Scotland selection this week,” he said.
“There’s a really good buzz throughout the whole squad We’re aware of how important this game is for the club and there’s been a real focus on it.”