Injury crisis won’t faze Blair ahead of crucial Saracens tie
Edinburgh face their toughest task of the season so far on Saturday when they visit Saracens in the Challenge Cup.
But far from fearing the game against the former European champions, Head Coach Mike Blair, believes it will be an ideal test for his team as they aim to build on a great start to the campaign.
Friday night’s 24-10 win over Benetton at the DAM Health Stadium was a fifth victory for the capital club in seven URC matches, and kept them just a point behind Leinster at the top of the table.
The fixture list has been kind to them as they have not had to play any of the Irish teams yet, but it is still obvious that they have made considerable progress since Blair took over in the summer.
Just how much progress will become clear at the Stonex Stadium at the weekend, when the coach could be without several key players.
WP Nel had to pull out of the squad on Friday after suffering a strain during the warm-up, Bill Mata and Damien Hoyland went off in the first half after taking knocks, and Blair Kinghorn exited late in the game for a head-injury assessment.
However, the experienced Jaco van der Walt should be back from injury and able to take over at stand-off if Kinghorn is not passed fit.
And even if he is without those three Scotland caps and Fijian international Mata, Blair is convinced that his squad can give a good account of themselves.
“It will definitely be a great test for us in terms of where we are, and where we can get to,” he said.
“I think we’ll certainly go with confidence. We have 15 or 23 we’re able to put on the pitch that we should have good expectation for.
“We are at the start of the journey. But we have a squad who, when we go on the pitch, should be in a position where we are learning – but winning at the same time.
“The expectation is not that it will take time for things to bed in. The expectation is that we learn, and we grow, while we are winning games.
“We have lots of internationals, lots of quality, so we want these guys to challenge the best teams in Europe – and Saracens are definitely one of them.”
Edinburgh’s attack has been in inspiring form at times, especially in the first half of their victory over the Dragons last month.
But Blair has been just as pleased by a much-improved defence, and thinks it is important for the side to keep up the improvements all round.
“It’s not just about attack,” he insisted. “It’s about balance to our games, and playing in a certain way against different opposition or different conditions.
“We had to play more against Dragons in the first-half because there was no point in kicking the ball because of the strength of the wind.
“Against Saracens, there might be other opportunities that open up.
“We might have to kick more, make them play from deeper, and create counter-attack ball from that.
“It’s all about balance – seeing what the conditions are, seeing what the opposition are, and then reading the defence that we’ve got in front of us.”