MCBURNEY ACUTELY AWARE EDINBURGH HAVE TO BE AT THEIR BEST AGAINST CARDIFF
Edinburgh hope to go into the URC’s mid-season break on a high today by beating Cardiff - but they know they will need to be at their best against a side who have won their last four matches.
That run of wins by the Welsh team includes arguably the most impressive result of the season so far, last week’s 30-24 defeat of the Stormers, last season’s champions. So Edinburgh hooker Adam McBurney, for one, is well aware of the size of the task awaiting his team this afternoon.
“Stormers hadn’t been beaten for about 13 or 14 games before they played them, so anyone who can beat them is a team you have to be wary of,” he said. “Cardiff’s kicking game is fantastic and they pose a massive breakdown threat. But we believe that if we put the best version of ourselves on that pitch then we’ll be in with a great chance of winning.”
Edinburgh will be without a host of players who are away on Scotland duty – but then so were Glasgow at Scotstoun on Friday night, and they beat Benetton 37-0 with a performance that showed the increasing depth of Franco Smith’s squad. “It was a bit of a dream come true,” lock forward Alex Samuel said after making his debut for the Warriors, the team he grew up supporting.
“Usually I’m on the other side of the fence as a fan – have been for about the last 10 years. It’s pretty cool.”
The former Scotland Under20 captain has been playing for the Ayrshire Bulls in Super6 this season, and although he said he found the senior game a step up from the semi-pro level, he acquitted himself well in his team’s six-try stroll to victory over the Italians.
“It was a lot faster (than Super6) and probably a bit more physical as well. My lungs are struggling a bit, but it was a good experience,” he added.
Samuel plans to attend this afternoon’s Super6 final at the DAM Health Stadium in Edinburgh between the Bulls, who are defending champions, and Watsonians. And he expects an entertaining game between the sides who have set the pace from the start of the season.
“It’s high-quality rugby, especially the two teams who are playing in the final,” he said of the competition as a whole, which completes its second full season this afternoon. “I think it will be a really good game.”
In the Premiership, meanwhile, Edinburgh Accies recovered from their blip against Heriot’s Blues last week to win 34-25 at GHA. “After last week it was really important we got back to winning ways,” Accies coach Iain Berthinussen said after a result which keeps his club firmly in the chase for a play-off place.
Hawick remain top thanks to a 17-8 win at Selkirk. Bottom-ofthe-table Musselburgh got the result of the day – and their first win of the season – with an 11-8 home win over champions Marr. Currie Chieftains prevailed 31-20 at Jed-Forest, and Heriot’s lost 42-19 at home to Glasgow Hawks.