TIME FOR SHIEL TO PROVE HIS WORTH WITH FIRST START
Edinburgh head coach richard Cockerill has challenged young scrum-half Charlie Shiel to prove he is good enough to hold down a first-team place.
After 11 appearances off the bench over the past two seasons, the 21-year-old makes his first start for the club, against Agen in the European Challenge Cup tonight.
With first choice henry Pyrgos rested and his understudy nic groom injured, Shiel finally gets a chance to shine. heriot’s scrum-half dan nutton is selected among the replacements and, if involved, will make his competitive debut for the club.
despite naming him, Cockerill sounded as if he was still to be convinced whether Shiel (below) — son of former Scotland centre graham and grandson of former Scotland and british Lions scrum-half douglas Morgan — has the nous to be his team’s regular playmaker.
‘he’s got to prove he can run a game for us,’ said the Englishman. ‘in his cameos off the bench, he’s looked sharp and has a spark. he’s got to be able to be calm and lead the team around the field and drive the team. it will be interesting to see if he can do that from the start of a game. This is part of his development and a good opportunity for him.
‘There’s been good guys in front of him at nine which has meant Charlie hasn’t started until now. Also, he needs to work on his retention of information.
‘nobody touches the ball more than a scrum-half, so he has to be very diligent, on it, and drive the team. So Charlie needs to be sure of that. This is an opportunity for him to pull all of these pieces together.
‘he’s got a good instinct, eye for the gap, very tenacious. he needs his detail to be on-point and to deliver what the team needs and not just what he sees in the game.
‘There’s a lot to like about him but, with pressure on him against Agen, he’s going to have to deliver those things as accurately as possible from the start. it’s a bit easy to come on for 15-20 minutes at the end when your team’s winning. Agen are a good side playing at home where they rarely lose so it will be a good test for Charlie.’
Cockerill has fielded a weakened team to go to France, as he has made no secret that his priority this season is to finish in the top six of the Pro14, which would see them automatically qualify for next season’s heineken Cup. They can also do that by winning this year’s Challenge Cup, but that is more of a long shot.
he has made 12 changes from the starting team that beat dragons at bT Murrayfield last weekend with full-back damien hoyland, wing Jamie Farndale and centres James Johnstone and george Taylor all selected in the back division for the trip to the Stade Armandie.
The strongest and most experienced unit in the Edinburgh team is the back row where Scotland internationals Jamie ritchie and John barclay are on the flanks with Australian nick haining, who signed from bristol bears over the summer, at no 8. ‘We’ve got a strong squad and that is reflected in our team selection,’ said Cockerill.
‘We have been able to rotate back in a number of our Scotland internationalists to the forward pack. They bring quality and added experience, which is always needed when travelling away in Europe. ‘A number of guys get their opportunity in the backline, and we are very excited to see how they manage against a good opponent in Agen.’