It’s a trip into the unknown for Hodge
Duncan Hodge fears Edinburgh could become victims of their own success.
The former Scotland stand-off is attack coach at the capital club, which is about to enter what could prove to be one of the most-hectic and historic periods in its existence.
Riding high at the top of the PRO14’s Conference B, on successive weekends Edinburgh face derbies against Glasgow before –theyhope–asemi-finalandthe final itself, immediately followed by a Challenge Cup quarter-final against Bordeaux Begles.
But, while delighted to be chasing silverware on two fronts, Hodge admits such a brutal schedule could have a knock-on effect whenever the season starts. “It’s a difficult period,” he said. “A lot of teams are going to have two games and then another period of pre-season and rest, while we just don’t know what we’re going to have.
“It all depends on how we do. “Potentially we’ve got knockout rugby in the PRO14, and then in Europe as well. How well we do depends on what fixtures we’ve got, and that’s going to dictate injuries and a whole load of things.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great position to be in. We’re extremely happy that we’re at the top end of our table and still in Europe. But it does create a fair bit of stress.”
Asked if his men can slip straight back into their swashbuckling style, Hodge said: “You never know until you play a game.
“It’s not like we’re playing warm-up games. We’re going to be straight into it in two weeks and the unknown is how well we fare against serious opposition.”
Preparing for the 1872 derbies isn’t as straightforward as usual, either, as neither team has played for months and Glasgow have a new coach in Danny Wilson.
“It’s a difficult one and we’ve talked about it,” revealed Hodge. “They’ve got the same time constraints as us, so what can you change in a short period of time?
“Secondly, you’ve got players who have been used to playing a certain way. So how do they adapt to a new game plan? Can they adapt? How much do you change?
“It’s a bit unknown. Normally we know exactly what we’ll get from Glasgow. But this time there is an element of: ‘What’s going to change, what’s not going to change?’. It’s a bit trickier to plan, for sure.”
Things will only get trickier when the unusually full international schedule kicks in and Edinburgh lose players to Gregor Townsend’s squad.
“With there being more Scotland games, it means we won’t have our best players,” said Hodge.
“And Fiji being in the same tournament isn’t magnificent news for Edinburgh and Glasgow, either, as we both have Fijians in our squads.
“It’s going to be tough, but we see that as a positive challenge as we’ll get more time with some younger guys, who potentially wouldn’t have got as much game time.”
Hodge’s main concern is that South Africa-born first-choice flyhalf, Jaco van der Walt, qualifies for Scotland in mid-November and, if he’s picked, that leaves him relying on raw Under-20 cap Nathan Chamberlain as their playmaker.
“It would be great for Jaco,” said Hodge. “He’s done well for us. Gregor has Adam Hastings, Finn Russell, Duncan Weir, Pete Horne and Jaco gets thrown into that mix.
“A lot of it goes on form, so the carrot’s there for Jaco. But if he does go, there’s a lot sitting on Nathan’s shoulders.”