Edinburgh can make it a happy tale for two cities
WHAT a night this could be for Scottish rugby. If Edinburgh can beat Montpellier at BT Murrayfield, they will secure a home quarter-final and Glasgow will have qualified for the knockout stage as well, irrespective of what happens at Saracens tomorrow.
Heady days, indeed, for the professional game in this country.
When the draw for the Heineken Champions Cup was made back in the summer, I thought Glasgow had the easier group and had a real chance of progressing — in pretty much the way they have so far.
Saracens were always going to be very tough but Lyon and Cardiff provided Glasgow with a good opportunity to make the quarter-finals for only the second time in their history.
Edinburgh, on the other hand, were handed a stinker of a draw. At the time, Newcastle had just finished fourth in the English Premiership and the two French giants, Toulon and Montpellier, had the money to strengthen what were already very strong squads.
As the season has progressed, however, it has looked a little better, with Newcastle and Toulon both struggling domestically and Edinburgh’s form improving after a sticky start.
Home-and-away wins against both of those sides have left Richard Cockerill’s men with their destiny in their own hands and what a position that is.
The victory last week over Toulon was the greatest in Edinburgh’s history, for me. It was incredible mainly because of the reputation and recent history of the opposition and the quality of rugby that Edinburgh produced.
Bill Mata’s offload for the crucial score was sensational and I was so impressed with the rugby they were playing. It wasn’t just that offload. Everyone was doing it — forwards and backs. You could see the confidence flowing through the team.
Confidence is that intangible thing that all great sides have. It can be generated from many things; consistency in selection, winning games, freedom from the coaches to go out and express oneself, receiving positive comments in the media. All of these have been in play, especially the consistency, with Cockerill naming an unchanged team for the game tonight.
Another factor that can generate confidence is looking around the changing room and seeing certain people getting ready to go out and play. Their mere presence in the team instills confidence in others.
At the end of my career, Jason White was that man for me. When I saw him in the changing room, my confidence in how I and the team was going to perform increased.
For Edinburgh, Mata might be that man, or it could be captain Stuart McInally, or maybe even one of the unsung heroes like James Johnstone. It doesn’t matter who it is but it is clear that this group of players are enjoying playing with each other and it is working.
Another reason that Edinburgh have improved so much is the emergence of a very good back line. They’d had a good pack for a while but nothing much behind it.
That has changed and players such as Chris Dean and Johnstone deserve huge credit.
Dean’s performances have been rewarded by being picked in the Scotland squad for the Six Nations, while Johnstone must be very unlucky not to have made it.
Mata’s offload last week was special but so was the run from Johnstone and the pace he generated to finish off the score.
These two centres are journeymen no more; they are the real deal and the likes of Matt Scott and Mark Bennett will find it tough to get back in the team when they return from injury.
This will be a tougher match tonight for Edinburgh than last week. It will be much more physical but this is good for the Scots.
They have the ability to match it up front with the best in Europe and I am backing them to get the win that would mean so much for rugby in Scotland: both teams in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup.
I hope the significance of the match is reflected in the crowd tonight. There were over 20,000 for the 1872 Cup match just before Christmas and it would be fitting if there was close to this to see history being made by Edinburgh.
Glasgow fans not going to London should also be cheering on their rivals because the picture is very different for them if Edinburgh were not to get the win...