Coach backs Edinburgh to deliver upset
RICHARD Cockerill believes his Edinburgh side can go to Paris and beat Racing 92 in the last 16 of the Champions Cup next month if his Scotland contingent can play to the level they have reached in the Six Nations.
Racing have been runners-up in European rugby’s premier competition three times in the past five years, and have assembled a star-studded squad which includes internationals such as Teddy Thomas, Simon Zebo and Kurtley Beale as well, of course, as Scotland standoff Finn Russell. But Cockerill insisted his team would not be intimidated by their glamorous opponents in the one-off match, and said the squad’s experiences in recent years of playing big games in France would stand them in good stead.
“A tough draw, but if you’re in that company you’re always going to get a tough draw,” the head coach said after the draw was made yesterday. “They’ve got a fantastic galactico of a squad, and we look forward to having a fit and available squad and going there and giving it our best shot.
“It’s one of the biggest competitions in world rugby: the best teams with the best players from worldwide. We’re excited to be in it. We’re excited to have the opportunity to have all our players together, albeit probably only for six or seven days since they’ve been away for eight weeks and then we go to Paris and play.
“It’s exciting – a one-off where if we get it right we can certainly beat them.”
Asked if he regarded the away tie against Racing as the toughest test he had had as a coach, Cockerill continued: “Not really, because we’ve played Montpellier and Toulon with this group. We’ve been to Bordeaux a couple of times in knockout stages as well. We’ve played some big games.
“We’ve not had our Test players for two-thirds of the season. I’ve not seen most of my squad. So it’s going to be nice to get them back.
“We should look forward to it. It’s a brilliant game to be involved in. I know [the
Champions Cup season] has been a bit shortened because of Covid, but we’ve been to Sale and won, we got a bonus point at home against La Rochelle, we’ve earned the right to be in the last 16. So we’re going to go and give it our best shot.”
If Edinburgh do beat Racing, they will face another away tie in the quarter-finals against either Bordeaux or Bristol. That match will take place a week after the round of 16, on the second weekend in April.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh have completed the signing of South African tighthead prop Luan de Bruin, who will join from Leicester Tigers in time for next season. The 28-year-old is understood to have signed a threeyear deal, and is a replacement for Simon Berghan, who is moving to Glasgow in the summer.
The crucial difference between the new man and Berghan is that De Bruin is not Scottish qualified and will therefore be available to Cockerill throughout the season, as opposed to both Berghan and his fellowtighthead WP Nel are among that contingent of Test players who have often been absent.
“Holding two Scottish tightheads that go away the whole time has been difficult for us,” Cockerill added.
“We need to have strength when guys are away, so the opportunity to bring Luan in is a good one for us, because he’s available all the year round.”