We weathered the storm well, says Kinghorn

IT was job done for Edinburgh on Friday night. Replicating that performance a week today in their Champions Cup return tie against Newcastle Falcons would take the men from the capital to the brink of the knockout stages.

That quest was helped greatly by their bonus- point win at Murrayfield, with full- back Blair Kinghorn securing that all- important fourth try.

And it rounded off a good night’s work for all concerned, having recovered from a sticky first half.

“To get five points on a night like that was a brilliant result for us,” said Kinghorn. “They were horrible conditions out there. It was probably not the best game to watch but we got five points, so we’re not really worried about that.

“At half time [ and 13- 10 down], Cockers [coach Richard Cockerill] said that it was there for the taking. He said it was in our hands, and it was all about whether we wanted to work hard for it. Straight after half time, we came out and got a turnover and scored early on, and that set us up for the rest of the second half.”

Despite the importance of the game, Kinghorn says he felt Edinburgh were always in control, despite a few close calls.

“I felt we weren’t panicking too much. A big moment in the game was when they broke through and our hooker Dave Cherry got back and made a brilliant covering tackle [ on Adam Radwan], which was a big moment and that could have swung the game.

“It was just a good, dogged performance. We knew that if we stuck to our game-plan then we were going to score,” said the back, who kept his composure as he chased Jaco van der Walt’s grubber kick – the opening provided by the genius of Bill Mata – to score Edinburgh’s all- important fourth touchdown.

“I was panicking a little bit because the ball wasn’t popping up but Mish [Hamish Watson] was talking to me, saying I’ve got time, so I was keeping calm. But Bill has been in great form for us and can pull something out of nothing, as you saw for that try.”

On the face of it, Edinburgh’s European form appears better than their Pro14 efforts. Nothing new there. It is an ailment Edinburgh have suffered from in the past. But Kinghorn, for one, doesn’t read too much into history appearing to repeat itself.

“We’ve had a really tough run in the league, had a lot of boys injured and a lot of boys away on international duty. I think the boys who have been here have done really well up against some pretty much full- strength teams. We’ve not lost at home and, although we’re struggling with our away form, we’re not too worried about it just yet.”

It is worth the reminder that, ahead of this tie, the Falcons had beaten both Montpellier and Toulon. But that was with a full compliment of players, especially in the front row and, more particularly, at tight- head.

The tournament organisers EPCR wouldn’t grant Falcons dispensation to draft in a recognised tight- head for this game, having lost three players to injury in advance of the match, throwing up all sorts of questions in terms of the integrity of the competition and player welfare.

Dean Richards, Newcastle’s director of rugby, had every right to sound upset and perplexed at the situation he and his team had been placed in. That he had received a call from Cockerill in advance of the game, lending support to Falcons’ request, reflected the Edinburgh coach’s concerns the game could become a travesty with uncontested scrums.

The last word on Friday evening belongs to someone who once graced the Murrayfield pitch a few dozen times. Grand Slam winner John Jeffrey, now a World Rugby executive committee member, looked upwards, at the swirling rain and flexing goalposts. “Summer rugby, anyone?”

Having seen kicks missed, passes dropped, and schoolchildren frozen to the core on their big night out, added to his case that “this is an entertainment business, remember”, making the counter-argument about tradition seem somewhat lightweight. He may have a

point, or several.