The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Cockerill wants ‘fairytale’ happy ending to season
Richard Cockerill admits it would be a “fairytale” if Edinburgh were to advance into the last four of the Guinness PRO14 in his first season in charge.
Edinburgh have already made history by reaching the play-offs this season for the first time in the club’s history and face a trip to Munster – who they have already beaten this season – in the quarter-final on Saturday.
After weeks of waiting for their place to be confirmed, Edinburgh did it in style by beating Glasgow 24-19 at BT Murrayfield to reclaim the 1872 Cup and secure third place in Conference B, which also sees them qualify for the Champions Cup next season.
It has been a remarkable effort by the club in Cockerill’s first season in charge, with the former Leicester head coach insisting his side are constantly punching above their weight to even be in with a shout of a top-three spot.
However, he has been clear on his ambition for the club to eventually be one of the bigger teams in the competition.
“We have worked really hard,” he said. “We have played 21 (league) games and played for seven months to get to this point.
“I want to enjoy the experience and learn from it. Our season is not over yet, but whatever happens on Saturday it has been a good one for us. However, it’s our 29th game of the season and I don’t want to give it away too easily.
“It will be a fairytale for us if we get past Munster and can get to Dublin to play Leinster, who will just have played a European final, but let’s not get too far ahead.”
The belief in the camp is slowly building that they belong in the elite company of teams such as Glasgow, Munster and Leinster, who have regularly competed at the top end of the competition.
And Cockerill believes the performance against Dave Rennie’s side on Sunday will send out a message to the rest of the league that they are no longer pushovers.
He said: “It shows we can compete with these sides. Glasgow have been consistently the best side in the PRO14 this season and we have beaten them twice.
“That gives us confidence that if we can beat Glasgow, why can’t we beat Munster?
Scotland international Sam Hidalgo-Clyne will leave Edinburgh this summer and join Scarlets.