No place like a new home for Cochrane

EDINBURGH have slipped up in the recent past in matches they have been expected to win well, but on Friday night they made no mistake. In front of a near capacity crowd of over 5000 for their first match at Myreside, Duncan Hodge’s team beat Timisoara Saracens 49-3 to comfortably clinch a home quarter-final in the Challenge Cup.

No-one was happier with the result and the occasion than Neil Cochrane, the former Watsonians player who had been made captain on his 50th appearance, and scored two tries into the bargain on his return to his old home ground.

“I’m delighted – it couldn’t have gone any better,” the hooker said. “It was a fantastic start to our new home. There was a lot of expectation and I think we did a thoroughly professional job coming here and putting 49 points on a physical side.

“We knew what was on the line – it was a home quarter-final should we get the five points. We’d spoken about that all week and we knew we had to keep our structure and play in the right areas and I think we did that.

“In the first half we got four tries and we were clinical.

“I’ve got a lot of good memories [here]. It’s fantastic that we can move to a venue like this. The temporary stands look great. We’ve struggled at Murrayfield, maybe with the supporters being so far away from the pitch, but here they’re on top of you.”

Edinburgh had to await the outcome of the other pool matches before finding out their opponents in the last eight, but what they do know is that match on the weekend beginning March 30 will be back at Murrayfield, where they could attract a five-figure attendance.

“If we can get a bigger crowd that will be fantastic, but even here having more than 5000 people, what an atmosphere,” Cochrane added. “It makes such a big difference to the team, it lifts us at times when we may be down, and I think it was a good performance.”

Edinburgh are back on PRO12 duty for their next game at Myreside, the match against Munster on Friday week, the eve of the Scotland-Ireland match. Cochrane continued: “The last three weeks we’ve had three wins, so we need to carry that momentum into the Munster game.

“It’s a shame we’ve got five days off, because the boys are desperate to get into that game. We’re in next Thursday and we’ll be working very hard to carry this momentum forward.”