MARK BENNETT
Centre finally swaps Warriors for Edinburgh in search of first-team rugby
THERE is nothing quite as good for your confidence as knowing a top-class internationalist wants to join the club. So for Phil Burleigh and the rest of the Edinburgh players, the news that Mark Bennett is heading in their direction came as a welcome boost at just the right time.
“It is awesome having someone like him coming in next year,” Burleigh said. “It is nice to have another centre here; someone with international experience who has proven himself.
“He has a pretty tough edge to him, as a lot of players who have played international rugby do. He has a lot of experience and he runs some great lines. His experience will be huge for the young guys here.
“He will bring a different side to things and will probably make my job a bit easier. Like Duncan [Weir], he is coming from Glasgow where they have a slick background so I am sure he will be confident.”
With no sign of certainty over their coaching future at Edinburgh and the club currently languishing ninth in the Guinness PRO12, 18 points off sixplaced Ulster who have their game against Zebre in hand, it would have been easy for morale to slump.
That a player like Bennett, on the shortlist for World Breakthrough player of the year in 2015 and an Olympic silver medalist, wants to join them has come at the right time to give team spirit a much-needed boost.
“Obviously we are not too sure yet what is happening next year,” Burleigh added. “Having guys like that coming in is good for us. It is nice to get guys coming our way.
“International caps have a tough edge – a way they go about things. They are professional and guys learn and thrive off that. They have experience and always give a team a lift.”
Edinburgh need all the confidence boosts they can get since slipping to defeat in Ulster last weekend. They are back in Ireland on Friday to take on Leinster, once of the three sides still realistically in the battle for top spot in the PRO12 table.
“We have been pretty disappointed the last two weeks,” Burleigh admitted as he reflected on the one-point defeat by Munster and losing by six in Belfast.
“We have gone close to taking out top sides, but just fallen short and now we have to prove that we can beat these types of teams.
“Getting into the top six in the PRO12 is huge. We are concentrating in little blocks so there is three games to come that are very important and then we have the Euro stuff. We are just focused on the PRO12 at the moment.
“It is not that we are playing bad rugby, we just need to sort out little areas that are not quite clicking. Holding on to the ball for long periods of time has been a problem.”