Cockerill cooking up derby storm
Edinburgh coach calls Glasgow ‘whingers’ as rivals prepare for festive double-header
Edinburgh players can be quite nice. Those rough Glaswegians are different
THE festive season for Scotland’s pro-teams means two things. The traditional doubleheader between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh — and the wonderful mind games from Richard Cockerill.
The Edinburgh head coach is undoubtedly the gift that keeps on giving and his opening salvo ahead of Saturday’s first leg at Scotstoun was truly a joy to behold yesterday.
First up, there was some advice for referee Ben Blain, who will be officiating only his sixth Pro14 game, to be strong. Why? Because of the ‘whinging’ coming from the Warriors’ half-backs and hooker.
Next, Cockerill indulged in some choice language when describing the suggestion his on-form team were favourites going in against a Glasgow side reeling from defeat to La Rochelle last weekend as b ****** s’. Added to that were some none-too-subtle comments about the Warriors having a ground to call their own, a bigger budget and a bigger squad.
Indeed, if the matches between the two sides are even half as entertaining as a Cockerill press conference, then fans will be in for a treat.
‘We have a relatively inexperienced referee in only his sixth Pro14 game, so there will be some pressure on him,’ said the Englishman (right) as he warmed to his task. ‘Glasgow, notoriously, especially at home, complain a lot and they appeal a lot. There is a lot of shouting and whingeing especially from nine, 10 and two. We will get on with our game.’
Cockerill also demanded that his players refuse to be intimidated by what he suggested was a more streetwise Glasgow team.
‘We want it to be hard for them,’ he continued. ‘We don’t want to compromise ourselves by being too nice. The Edinburgh players can be quite nice, polite public schoolboys.
‘Those rough Glaswegians are a bit different to us, so we want to make sure we won’t be intimidated, we want to be physical and we want to do what we want to do.
‘In saying that, our discipline is going to have to be good. I don’t want guys in the sin-bin or sent off because I want it to be a good, hard-fought game and, as long as we win, it will be a good day.’
Cockerill then bristled at the suggestion his team would be firm favourites after a better start in the league than Glasgow. They are also unbeaten in the European Challenge Cup while Warriors have won two out of their four Heineken Champions Cup matches. ‘B ****** s we are favourites,’ he said. ‘Glasgow have got their own stadium, the (soon-to-be) Australian national coach in Dave Rennie. They have more budget, a bigger squad. They are in the Heineken Cup, we’re not. They are clearly a much better team than us. Yes, we have momentum but we have been playing in the Challenge Cup, which is different to the Heineken Cup that they play in. It is very different.
‘I don’t think we’ve got a chip on our shoulder about them being better than us or anything. We’re just going there to take the points because that’s what we want and we want to beat our local rivals because rivalry is good. That little bit of tribalism is good and I want us to go there and show what a good team we are.
‘We have been working hard since I arrived to make us durable and gain respect from the opposition when we play. If we get it right, we can beat any team on our day, which we are slowly doing and proving.
‘Glasgow have not been playing as well early on this season as they have over the past two years but they are always dangerous.
‘We are going there to take as many points as we can as we want to be in the play-offs.’
Cockerill didn’t go as far as to suggest all the pressure was on Glasgow because of their poor start to the season but did think they would be the less ‘comfortable’ of the two teams.
‘I imagine they’re not particularly comfortable because they need to win games to sit well in their Pro14 conference table,’ he said. ‘They are a team that normally sits high in their table and that relieves pressure because every time you play, you don’t have to win, so you play with a bit more ease.
‘Every time you play and you do have to win, it puts pressure on you. Same with us, we have to win because we want to take the points because the teams around us in our conference table are very close.’
It looks like Cockerill will put faith in the relatively inexperienced George Taylor, whom he handed a two-year contract extension to yesterday, to make up the centre paring with the more experienced Mark Bennett against Glasgow.
Both finished together in the win over Wasps last weekend after Bennett came off the bench, with the combination looking like it had real potential.
With Matt Scott and Chris Dean both likely to be unavailable through injury, this will be a big chance for Taylor — who started out at Melrose — to show he can cut it at the highest level.
‘George has had an opportunity this year to get more starts than he thought he would because of injuries and he has come through the academy and taken his opportunity,’ said Cockerill. ‘He now has the chance to stay longer at Edinburgh and keep playing on a more regular basis.
‘You need to show something when you get the chance to play for us and George has done that. I have no interest if he is Scottish or not. He deserves his opportunity to play, so I was keen to extend his contract.’