Cockerill: We fear no-one in Europe

Richard Cockerill declared that his Edinburgh side fear no team in Europe after going top of Pool 5 in the Heineken Champions Cup with a 31-13 win over Newcastle at BT Murrayfield.

“This group have a belief in themselves that Edinburgh haven’t always had,” said the coach. “We believe, if we can get the right people on the field, we are capable of beating anybody across Europe.”

Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards, meanwhile, was left fuming after being forced to go into the match without a specialist tighthead prop after tournament bosses refused a request to register one in their European squad.

Richards said: “We lost three tightheads in 24 hours. There is a safety issue and I’m extremely disappointed with EPCR.”