McInally hopes for Saracens redemption
Edinburgh captain out to make amends for 2012-13
NEARLY a decade has passed since Edinburgh last played Saracens in European competition, but the results from back then still have a very ominous feeling about them for Mike Blair’s side as they prepare to meet the English team again tomorrow.
The teams played twice in the pool stages of the 2012-13 Heineken Cup, a competition that Edinburgh entered with high hopes after reaching the semi-final the previous season. Those hopes took a hefty dunt, to say the least, when Saracens came to Murrayfield in the opening round of games and won 45-0. And they had disappeared entirely by the time the return fixture took place three months later, in January 2013, when Saracens won 40-7 at Vicarage Road.
Stuart McInally, for one, needs no reminding of that double-header. The hooker and his fellow forwards Grant Gilchrist and WP Nel are the only players who remain at the capital club from back then, and when asked about those games earlier this week he rightly pointed out that a lot had changed since then. However, McInally also acknowledged that Saracens are likely to be as tough opponents in the Challenge Cup tomorrow as they were in the Heineken in 2012-13, and he knows that his own team will have to build on their own encouraging early-season form if they are to have a chance of an upset at the Stonex Stadium.
“It was really disappointing,” the Scotland internationalist said. “I remember it. We’d had that good run in Europe the year before and there was a lot of buzz and I guess a bit more expectation around us, but we started poorly.
“We got gubbed here. Then we went down there in the snow and ice.
“But it was a long time ago and it’s almost a completely new team now. And hopefully we can go down and get a better result this time.
“We’re a much stronger team than we were back then. I believe we’re in a much better place to go down there and give a better account of Edinburgh.
“We’re looking forward to it. We’re under no illusions about how tough it’s going to be. They’re a great team, they’re playing good rugby, and we know we’ll have to be at our best. We’ve had a good start to the season, but this is a step up and we’re excited to see where we’re at.”
European competition is invariably a step up from the league, and that could be especially the case for Edinburgh this year given the way their URC fixture list has panned out. Their record of five wins and a draw from seven games has been a very encouraging start to Blair’s reign as head coach, taking them to second place in the table, but it should be noted that they have yet to play any of the other teams in the top seven places.
Having said that, McInally and many of his colleagues have had the benefit of taking on some of the best sides in the world in the Autumn Nations Series. The 31-year-old scored off the bench in Scotland’s 29-20 win over Japan – and repeated the feat in Edinburgh’s bonus-point win over Benetton last week. So he goes into this game in good form, even though he accepted that when a hooker scores off a five-metre lineout there are a lot of other team members who
We got gubbed down here... We’re a much stronger team now than we were back then
deserve a large share of the credit.
“It’s ridiculous how the hooker tends to get the pat on the head. If you look at that maul we scored from at the weekend, the work Jamie Ritchie did at the front, batting off players, Schoeman as well coming through - they’re the ones who make the try.
“[But] it’s always good to get them. Last week was good, because we had a bit of a focus on trying to get a driving-maul
score, so it was good that we managed to actually get that on the field. And when we needed to we got that fourth try, which was crucial.”
A four-try win over
Saracens might be too much to ask, but Edinburgh are both tougher up front and sharper in attack than they were back in 2012-13. Precisely how much tougher and sharper is likely to be revealed in what should be an engrossing contest.