The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
In Cardiff cauldron Grammar have made changes for the better
willing to stand for a substandard display and he has urged his team of understudies to put on a show against their Guinness Pro14 rivals.
The Kiwi said: “What we know is that regardless of who pulls on the jersey, there’s an expectation to perform in it and we’ve named a strong squad.”
Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill insists he will not need to fire up his side as they look to bounce back from last week’s humiliating Zebre loss.
The Murrayfield side blew a 13-point half-time lead as they crashed 34-16 to the Italians but, ahead of facing Scarlets in Llanelli tonight, Cockerill said: “I don’t think we have to lift the players , the players are motivated to win.
“We clearly weren’t good enough at Zebre, but we’ve worked really hard this week and will leave everything out on the field.” Reorganising their defence has helped Aberdeen Grammar to stop the rot in National 1.
That is the view of vice-captain Doug Russell with Grammar coming into this weekend’s game against Cartha Queen’s Park on the back of their first win in five games.
Grammar won 35-12 away at second-bottom Hamilton last weekend with the league’s basement side heading to the Granite City tomorrow.
The Rubislaw outfit have been one of the top-scoring teams in National 1 with 310 points from nine games but have shipped 244 in the same period.
Russell said: “One thing we’ve been working on is our defensive shape and although we conceded an early try last week, we didn’t panic.
“We stuck with our shape and came back for the win. We defended very well in the second half and that side of our game seems to have improved.
“If you let in tries you don’t win games, it’s as simple as that.
“In a lot of our games we have scored a lot of points but also conceded a lot as well.”
Grammar will be without a number of key players this weekend due to prop Ross Anderson’s wedding, with Robin Cessford, Aaron Robertson and Tom Aplin also missing. Forward Matthias Schosser is still on international duty with Germany.
Russell added: “This year we have had the advantage of having a much bigger squad.
“We’ve got guys that can step up and fill in, especially in the backs.”
The form of Chris Jollands has caught the eye this season with the former Scotland under-19 cap returning from a serious neck injury to become a regular scorer.
Russell said: “It’s easier to count the games where he isn’t man of the match. He provides a really good platform and plays the game very smartly for someone so young.”