COCKERILL BACKS BENNETT TO GIVE EDINBURGH EDGE:
Bennett has a bit of an edge — he is not a polite Edinburgh public schoolboy, so that is a good start
MARK BENNETT has plenty going for him. A Scotland international, an Olympic silver medallist and, according to Richard Cockerill, the fact he is not a ‘polite Edinburgh public schoolboy’...
Indeed, it is the ‘bit of devil’ in him that has his Edinburgh head coach ready to hand him his longawaited debut against former club Glasgow Warriors this weekend. A baptism of fire, for sure.
But Cockerill is determined to bring more edge to his side and he sees the 24-year-old centre from Ayrshire as the man to provide it in what will no doubt be a demanding derby clash as the side meet in the Pro14.
‘Mark is not a polite Edinburgh public schoolboy, so that is a good start,’ said the former England international. ‘Edinburgh public schools are nice places to be brought up.
‘My son is an Edinburgheducated public schoolboy and he is a pain in the a**. He is a bit too nice, so I know all about it.
‘It is good to get a bit of devil in the team and Mark brings that. We are getting a good balance of those guys in the starting team and that brings a bit of edge to us and a bit of fear to opponents which is a good thing.’
Cockerill, when asked whether his team had a soft underbelly because too many of his players had the ‘public school’ background, replied: ‘One hundred per cent, yeah. There is no getting away from that. I have hardened it up a bit but there are times that it still shows occasionally.’
Bennett has not played for ten months since an injury sustained while playing for Scotland against England in the Six Nations led to reconstructive knee surgery.
That delayed his Edinburgh debut following his summer move from Warriors and he will still have to undergo a late fitness test before he is named in the squad for the Murrayfield clash.
‘Mark is motivated to pull on an Edinburgh shirt for the first time and, on top of that, is keen to play against his old team and looks fit and ready to go,’ said Cockerill.
‘If that turns out to be the case, he should play. He is one of our marquee players for this season who was unfortunately injured and hasn’t played yet.
‘He is a very important player for us going forward. He has an edge about his game and is very forthright in his opinion on how things should be done.
‘He contributes well to team meetings and he will be very good for us on and off the field for the rest of the season.
‘We certainly want him to be involved against Glasgow but will have to decide in what capacity.’
Edinburgh will go into the back-to-back derby matches without loose-head prop Darryl Marfo, who is out with a back injury. Rory Sutherland is now set to start both games.
‘Darryl has played very well in the autumn Tests for Scotland and works really hard and has got the best out of the ability he has got,’ said Cockerill. ‘The challenge for him is to do that for us at club level and keep that consistency up he showed with Scotland.
‘When there are more looseheads fit who could play ahead of him, it is up to him to see if he can stay ahead of those guys and stay first choice for Scotland and Edinburgh. Either way, it looks like he will potentially miss both games against Glasgow.’
Cockerill joked he now ‘hated’ Glasgow in the same way he hated Northampton when Leicester played them in derby matches in England. He felt that rivalry was healthy and something he encouraged among his players.
‘The derby at Leicester would be Northampton, which is real hatred,’ he said. ‘It’s not made-up hatred: we really do hate Northampton. Sorry, they hate Northampton and now I hate Glasgow!
‘When I was at Clermont, it was Brive. When I supported Coventry City, at football, it was Leicester City.
‘Here, I think it’s important there’s a healthy rivalry. Clearly, from a success point of view, Glasgow have been the best team in the country for a little while, although these games seem to throw up surprising results.
‘I’m looking forward to my first experience of the EdinburghGlasgow derby.
‘We need to make sure we turn up and we play our part.
‘We will create an edge as best we can against them as when you have these derbies, I think form goes out the window — not that our form has been particularly poor.
‘Look, Glasgow are a good side. Historically and this season they’ve proved that they’re a better team than us.
‘The challenge for us is to try and even that balance up at Murrayfield on Saturday.’