TOONY TAKES A STEP BACK
RUGBY EDINBURGH v GLASGOW Coaching is easy for Edinburgh clash, says Gregor
GREGOR TOWNSEND believes he’s about to take on his easiest job of the season – coaching Glasgow in the Boxing Day clash with Edinburgh. The sides clash at Murrayfield with Toony’s troops desperate to take a step towards snatching back the 1872 Cup after two years of derby gloom. But the future Scotland coach reckons it will be like having an afternoon off when he watches the big festive Pro12 showdown. Toony, fresh from masterminding the Warriors’ back-to-back Euro triumphs over Racing 92, said: “The Edinburgh game is easier for me because all the talk about the opposition and what they can do is led by the players themselves. “The guys are highly motivated without me having to inspire them. “They know their rivals really well
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– much better than I do! They have all trained together with the Scotland squad and they are the ones who will be out on that field.
“They are also the ones who played in this fixture in the last couple of seasons when we didn’t win. The coaches are very much in the background.
“What the lads will have to do is make sure they play a smart game as well as performing with emotion.
“They will need that aggression – something that wasn’t there at Murrayfield last year or the one before.”
Townsend admitted he has been impressed with Edinburgh’s fresh crop of stars.
He said: “Some really good players have emerged and their displays in the autumn Test series were excellent.
“There was Allan Dell and Hamish Watson who played in all three matches, while Magnus Bradbury was pretty good against Argentina.
“They are all quite new to the scene but when you put them alongside the likes of Grant Gilchrist, Cornell Du Preez, Al Dickinson and Ross Ford, they have a strong side.
“And no one will be more pumped up than Duncan Hodge, who will be facing us for the first time since moving through there.”
Townsend insisted he’s not taking a gamble by resting arch-finisher Tommy Seymour. He said: “This was always the plan. We have to manage our resources with the Champions Cup in mind.
“We have sufficient depth in our squad and some others will be given a breather the following weekend when we go to Italy to face Treviso and again against Cardiff.
“Tommy played for us straight away after the November international, whereas Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell didn’t.
“Junior Bulumakau has earned the chance in place of Tommy by what he has done in training and through his displays for Hawks in the Premiership.
“I told him a few weeks ago that his opportunity would come and this is it. It was a close call between him and Sean Lamont but we think Junior will go really well in this match.”