Elated Edinburgh give themselves a round of applause
AT FULL-TIME in the Welsh capital, Edinburgh’s players celebrated victory over Cardiff Blues with a team huddle and a slow, rhythmic hand clap.
It was an understated way to mark a successful start to the new Guinness Pro14 season — but entirely befitting of a team coached by Richard Cockerill.
This season, Edinburgh look set to be defined by their boss; hard working, relentless, and with a fierce will to win. All three of those characteristics helped them come out on top in Friday night’s 2010 victory.
‘The clap is something Robbie Fruean brought in,’ explained Edinburgh full-back Blair Kinghorn, who scored one of his team’s two tries against the Blues.
‘It’s different, but it has been good for the team spirit. This win was a whole squad effort, so we’re very happy and it was a really good performance.
‘There are still things to work on, but I’m already looking forward to coming back in next week and putting the wrongs right.’
The Blues were poor, but they were outmuscled by Edinburgh at the contact area and a black wall of defence shut the home side out when needed.
Cockerill’s men were 10-7 ahead at the interval thanks to Kinghorn’s try and a conversion and penalty from Duncan Weir.
Josh Navidi had scored Cardiff’s try, with Jarrod Evans kicking the extras.
Edinburgh rode their luck, however, when referee George Clancy failed to spot that Sam Hidalgo-Clyne’s pass to Kinghorn was forward when he scored his try.
But there is no denying that in a scrappy game, they were the better side.
After the break, the Blues just wilted. Evans and Weir exchanged penalties, before Edinburgh centre Chris Dean came up with the game’s vital score, with Weir again kicking the conversion.
‘Our defence fronted up. Everyone is working hard and we’ve all been pushed to drive high standards,’ added Kinghorn, keen to point out the team ethos Cockerill has quickly installed.
‘That’s exactly what we need because when you do that off the field, it makes a big difference on it.
‘We’ve been in dark places in training, so you know the guys next to you are going to give their all. Pre-season was tough, but it was well worth it for results like this.’
Edinburgh won only six games in last season’s Pro12 and Cockerill was reluctant to get too carried away with Friday’s success — but it is obvious he has already made an impact.
The former Leicester boss’s decision to replace his entire front row early in the second half was vital as it shored up a creaking visiting scrum.
The challenge for him now is to make sure this kind of result is no one-off, but the start of a consistent run.
He said: ‘To bring Michele Rizzo, Ross Ford and Simon Berghan on — all Test players — that’s a strong bench. Ben Toolis had a big impact, too.
‘It shows the quality we have in the squad. The players are working hard, but all we’ve done is beat one team away from home.
‘This squad hasn’t been mentally good enough to back up results in the past. That’s what we have to try to do now.’