Cockerill confident Edinburgh can triumph against Toulon
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP RUGBY
TO paraphrase the great Mark Twain — rumours of Mathieu Bastareaud’s absence have been greatly exaggerated. The massive bulk of the French centre will be available to Toulon today, despite Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill’s previous assertion that the powerhouse of the back division was still serving a suspension.
You can understand why he assumed Bastareaud was still on the naughty step. One look at footage of the punch he landed on Christophe Samson of Castres and you, too, would have thought that those policing the game had seen fit to throw away the key.
Such luminaries as Brian Moore and Will Greenwood led the calls for the player to be banned for months. ‘Three months minimum, if they do their job properly,’ Moore tweeted.
Sadly, for Edinburgh’s cause, the ban was for just seven weeks, reduced to five as the player pled guilty.
We will find out today if Toulon are boosted by their captain’s presence. It is hard to see how they would not be, given their dismal start to both their domestic and European campaign.
‘He is a big player for them, their captain. He has got a lot bigger skill set than people give him credit for,’ Cockerill said yesterday.
‘Having worked with him he is clearly very physical and a very good ball carrier. He has a much more rounded game than people think.
‘He is a very good leader who will lead by example and has experience of captaining both his club and country.
‘The only advantage for us is that his English isn’t great. Hopefully the two guys who speak English next to him in the Toulon side can’t understand what he is saying.’
Bastareaud is part of a Toulon wing/centre package that Cockerill believes is one of the biggest and most talented ever fielded at the home of Scottish rugby.
They truly are a gang of giants including Malakai Fekitoa, wingers Julian Savea and Josua Tuisova and, of course, the bulk of Bastareaud himself.
‘We’ve got to cope with what’s coming physically and that’s going to be very difficult,’ Cockerill admitted. ‘When you put in the individual brilliance and the physicality alone from 11 to 14, it’s a hell of a task ahead of us.
‘I am under no illusions. They should win and for us to have a chance we have to keep the ball moving, keep things fluid and take our chances. What we have in our favour is that I worked with a lot of these Toulon players and know their strengths and weaknesses.’
With such massive frames creating shadows all over Murrayfield this afternoon, Cockerill has gone for guile with the selection of Darcy Graham on the wing against Tuisova.
Were it a boxing contest this pair would be in vastly different weight divisions. Yet one should remember David did fell Goliath and Cockerill has faith in his man.
‘Darcy has been picked on form. If we want young lads to come through the academy, play for Scotland and be part of this team, which we do, they must play in these games. He deserves to play.
‘Darcy is very physical and is playing against one of the most physical wingers in the world in Tuisova. He is some athlete, but these are the challenges we have to give our players. I’m looking forward to seeing how Darcy goes. So is Darcy.
‘If you look at their backline and our backline, there is more individual brilliance in them. But the collectiveness of our backline, our organisation and our will to stay together and fight for each other will have to be the difference for us if we want to win.’
Toulon’s abject showing so far this season means Edinburgh have a right to be going into this encounter in confident mood. The bonus point picked up in the away
defeat to Montpellier last week was more than many had expected.
‘If Toulon get it right they should win but if we get it right — get in amongst them and don’t let them settle — then we will give ourselves every chance of winning,’ Cockerill insisted.
‘There are no excuses. We know what it feels like to play against these teams, so we’ve got to deliver.’
EDINBURGH: Kinghorn; Graham, Johnstone, Scott, Fife; Van der Walt, Pyrgos; Dell, McInally, Nel, Toolis, Gilchrist, Bradbury, Watson, Mata.
Replacements: Ford, Sutherland, Berghan, Crosbie, Ritchie, Fowles, Hickey, Dean.
TOULON: Bonneval; Tuisova, Fekitoa, Bastareaud, Savea; Belleau, Meric; Fresia, Etrillard, S Taofifenua, Kruger, R Taofifenua, Rebbadj, Lakafia, Vanverberghe
Replacements: Soury, Chiocci, Setiano, Potgieter, Ikpefan, Trinh-Duc, Escande, Gahetau.
“He has a much bigger skill set than people give him credit for”