Head coach hailed for Edinburgh turnaround

RUGBY: Bradbury says Cockerill has brought winning mentality to club

Magnus Bradbury has credited Richard Cockerill with changing Edinburgh’s fortunes this season after bringing a winning mentality to the club.

Head coach Cockerill has led the club to their first Guinness Pro14 play-off in his first season in charge, with the club set to travel to Munster on Saturday.

They clinched the spot, and a Champions Cup place, with a 24-19 win over Glasgow on Saturday that also sealed the 1872 Cup to cap a fine debut campaign in Scotland with a side that has finished no higher than eighth in the Pro12/Pro14 era.

When asked what had been behind the club’s turnaround in fortunes, former skipper Bradbury said Cockerill’s experience in England, where he won back-to-back Premiership titles with Leicester, had rubbed off on the group.

He said: “It’s down to the coaches a lot. They get behind us and come up with the game plan, but the players deliver that.

“We have always had the players here to do that. He (Cockerill) has brought a huge amount. He is a very experienced guy, he has had that taste of success, whether it’s with Leicester or other teams he has coached.

“He knows how to win, and he has brought that in and we have won a lot of games under him and we are hungry for more.”

Cockerill’s side lost three successive matches in early September, but Bradbury says the early defeat to Benetton helped the club turn a corner that saw them lose just five more games all season after that initial run.

He said: “After the Treviso game when we were beaten at home earlier in the season we had a tough week...a lot of home truths were found out, and we had a long, hard look at ourselves.

“That’s where we realised what we need to do and what Cockers’ mindset and his plan was for how we need to kick on.

“Since then it’s been building week on week and growing as a team and as players.”

Edinburgh travel to Thomond Park to take on Munster in the quarter-final.

They beat the Irish side in March at BT Murrayfield, but Cockerill and Bradbury concede it was a second-string side sent out by the Irish club, who have since exited the Champions Cup at the semifinal stage and have something to prove this weekend.

“They are obviously a good side but we know what to expect. We have played them before and beaten them, so I expect a good game,” the Scotland back-row said.

“For me, I’ve never played in a game like this before, and it’s the same for a lot of the team as well. It will be great to go out there and play against one of the better teams in Europe and see where it takes us.”

Picture: SNS. Magnus Bradbury said Edinburgh are growing.