Capital men are ‘work in progress’

SKIPPER Grant Gilchrist admits Edinburgh remain a ‘work in progress’ after their faltering start to the season. Mike Blair’s side opened with a home win over Scarlets but lost away to Benetton followed by Saturday’s draw with the Stormers. Things could have been worse against the South Africans had fly-half Tim Sweil not missed a last-minute drop-goal attempt. ‘We’re not claiming we’re there yet but we’re certainly striving to get better every week,’ said Gilchrist. ‘We’re making improvements to our game. Small things like the fact we got done with a drop-goal at the end of the game against Benetton but this week you saw the guys flying through and putting pressure on and the kick was missed. ‘What’s exciting about this group is we know we can be so much better. We’re making steps forward week on week and 100 per cent we are a work in progress.’ All 40 points were scored in an exciting first half. Tries from Darcy Graham and Ben Vellacott gave the home side a 14-0 lead after just six minutes but they failed to hold on to it. ‘It was frustrating to start so well but not keep the lead,’ said Gilchrist. ‘We scored a lot of points but also conceded a lot in the first half, so we have to find a balance. ‘We don’t want to beat teams 50 points to 40. We have to be able to score and play with tempo and have a balance defensively. A big part of defence is how you kick. ‘If you kick loosely, it’s hard to defend and we can’t do that.’ This weekend Edinburgh host a Bulls side, who enjoyed an impressive 29-19 victory over Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital. ‘It’s great for the league to have these South African teams involved but they are tough to play against,’ said Gilchrist. ‘They’re exciting teams and I’m sure the supporters loved the game against the Stormers. ‘The South Africans all have dangerous back threes and are physical sides who like the set-piece. ‘If you kick loosely like we did in the first half and you don’t get your tackles right in the first couple of phases, they’re going to punish you.’