YOU can’t complain about the Duncan Hodge revolution at Edinburgh. After seeing his team rattle in six tries in his first game in charge, they did even better on this trip to Romania, setting club European records and generating the kind of feelgood factor that the fans have been craving.
Their opposition may not have been up to much, and neither Hodge nor the players are kidding themselves about the tougher tests ahead, starting with Harlequins at BT Murrayfield next week, but the fact is that by scoring more than 100 points and 15 tries in two games, they have bought the kind of confidence they need.
“We had made a few changes, a lot of guys who deserved a run in the team got one,” Hodge said. “It was important to put down a marker. It was a bit like last week; things have not been brilliant, we have been a bit short of confidence, so it was good from the first two possessions that we got two great team tries, that settled a few nerves.
“We played well in the first half, though our defence was not brilliant. We then made a lot of changes and things got a bit disjointed. There was stuff to work on there.”
There were the answers to a few questions hanging over the club. Viliame “Bill” Mata, the marquee Fijian fresh from his Olympic gold medal, does look the real deal. He had a hand in the opening try, scored a couple himself, looked comfortable ball in hand and tackled gamely.
He was well supported by the pack around him. It says a lot about the kind of game it was that though the forwards notched up eight of the nine tries they managed, only three of them were from the kind of close play you would see as traditional forward tries.
The biggest change under Hodge has been that the forwards have taken on the running and handling chores that used to be the sole prerogative of the back, and the team is flourishing because of it.
Which is not to say that they had anything more than physicality, passion and honest endeavour up against them. The problem for the hosts was that they never play at anything like this level. Robust effort in the close quarters but too many mistakes and they didn’t have a clue in defence when the ball moved into the wider channels.
Whatever the fighting spirit they brought to the game – we are after all talking about the home of the 1989 Romanian revolution – they had never seen a team with the kind of speed and power that Edinburgh brought and could not cope.
Up against them was a radical, new-look Edinburgh team but they settled from the start with Mata providing the link to send Stuart McInally down the wing and put Michael Allen in for the opening try.
A couple of minutes later he was in to crown his debut with a try, finishing a move started in the Edinburgh half.
Then it was down to a bit of grunt as the forwards started to impose themselves on the game, driving Stuart McInally, the hooker and captain, over for a hat-trick of tries, all of them at the back of line-out mauls. He won’t complain, but he won’t get many more simple scores either. Then it was back to chucking the ball about with Mata stealing the ball at the back of the line out to put Nasi Manu, the No 8, in for the next score.
“He’s just so exciting; the type of player who can get over the gainline and off-load that ball,” said Manu of his new team-mate.
“As a support player around him, you’ve just got to expect anything. He’s got the skill and it’s just good to have him out there.
“It’s just about getting that confidence and knowing that if we stick to our structures, they give us opportunities to score tries.
“Obviously next week is going to be a different kettle of fish in terms of the opposition; it’s going to be a tough game, but we know that if we stick to our structures, we’re in with a chance.”
Manu was soon in again, running a support line to finish a move started back in his own half and later – after Mata had claimed his second – he finished the Edinburgh scoring when he took a tap penalty and barged over to complete his hat-trick.
Timisoara were always up for the game and did score twice, once in each half, both by Stephen Shennan, the Auckland-born Romania internationalist wing, taking long cut-out passes that caught the Edinburgh defence too narrow. They were also over the line twice more without being able to ground the ball.
By then, though, Edinburgh had flooded the field with their replacements, and were suffering the inevitable loss of cohesion.
“Right across the board there were some good performances. Some from guys who have not played a lot of rugby. That can only be good for competition in the squad and growing a more competitive environment,” Hodge said.
Scorers: Timisoara Saracens: Tries: Shennan (2). Cons: Calafeteanu 2. Pen: Calafeteanu.
Edinburgh: Tries: Allen, Mata (2), McInally (3), Manu (3). Cons: Tovey 7.
Timisoara Saracens: C Fercu; F Tangimana (D Vladut Zaharia, 56), B Sefanaia (I Muresan, 48), J Umaga (T Manumua, 53), S Shennan; J Rose, V Calafeteanu; G Militaru (sin bin: 30-40, E Aholelei,53), E Capatana (A Radoi,50), H Pungea (S Maris, 55), V Popirlan, M Drenceanu, D Ianus, V Rus, S Stelian Burcea.
Edinburgh: R Scholes; A Northam, S Tofilau, J Rasolea, M Allen (G Bryce, 66); J Tovey (B Kinghorn, 66) S Hidalgo-Clyne (N Fowles, 53); A Dell (R Sutherland, 50), S McInally (C) (N Cochrane, 45), M McCallum, F McKenzie, B Toolis (L Carmichael, 53), V Mata (V Fihaki, 53), J Hardie, N Manu.
Referee: I Tempest (England)
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