Luke: The focus is always on winning
Edinburgh can do nothing for their own PRO14 fortunes when they take on the Dragons this afternoon, but they can do Glasgow a favour at the Principality Stadium, writes STUART BATHGATE.
As long as Richard Cockerill’s side do not lose by at least 44 points and a barrel-load of tries, the Warriors will finish ahead of the Welsh side in fourth place in Conference A, and that could be good enough for a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Edinburgh themselves will finish a lowly fifth in Conference B, after seeing their hopes of a topthree finish ended when they lost to Cardiff on Monday night.
But the prospect of a last-16 Champions Cup tie with Racing 92 in Paris next weekend should help them stay focused for this match.
And, as back-row forward Luke Crosbie insisted, professional pride is always a strong motivator – even if the squad are not too concerned about what the outcome of this game might mean for their Scottish rivals.
He said: “The focus is always just on winning for Edinburgh. Externally, I don’t really think too much. If it helps out Glasgow, then fair play to them, but if it didn’t help them out then I’m sure the mindset of everyone in the team would be going out there to win either way.
“Everyone in the squad wants to play well, irrelevant of what’s going on elsewhere. We’ve worked hard during the week and we want to get that win then get a beer after that and enjoy it.”
Crosbie is one of the Edinburgh players who faces a tough fight to get into the squad for the Racing match – in his case, because Scotland regulars like Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie should be back competing for places in the back row.
He explained that although playing against the likes of Finn Russell and Virimi Vakatawa in Paris had its appeal, he wanted to put everything into this game before turning his thoughts to European competition.
“Obviously it would be a good experience to go over there, but I’m just trying to put my best foot forward this weekend and see where that takes me,” said Crosbie.