EDINBURGH have been given the final green light they needed to go ahead with their planned trial move to Myreside next month. The city’s council yesterday approved their request for the erection of temporary stands at the Watsonians ground, meaning they can now complete the required redevelopment work in time for their first match there.

“We are delighted with the outcome of today’s ruling, and welcome the support of the council,” Jonny Petrie, Edinburgh’s chief executive, said after the council announced their decision. “Edinburgh truly is one of Europe’s great rugby cities and this decision kicks off a very important time for Edinburgh Rugby and its partnership with George Watson’s College, who we would like to thank for their ongoing support. We have been very proactive in our community engagement and as agreed at today’s hearing will continue to communicate with local residents and other key organisations and groups during the rest of the 2016/17 season to ensure the trial is as successful as possible.”

While Petrie and his colleagues never presumed approval was a fait accompli, it would have been a major surprise had the council turned down the application at this late stage. The initial plans have been modified to take residents’ concerns into account, and consultation meetings have been held to explain how Edinburgh intend to conduct their matchday operation.

The first match due to be played at Myreside is the Challenge Cup tie against Timisoara Saracens on the weekend beginning Friday 20 January, while the other games planned for the ground are in the PRO12. Munster had been supposed to be the visitors two weeks earlier in a league fixture, but their Champions Cup tie against Racing 92, postponed earlier in the season after the sudden death of their coach Anthony Foley, has been rescheduled for that weekend.

Edinburgh’s crowds have fallen as low as around 2500 on occasion this season, but that figure is still considerably greater than Watsonians currently get for their home games, so locals are sure to notice that their neighbourhood is busier than usual. But the ground has had attendances of several thousand in the fairly recent past for both club and representative matches, so in that sense Edinburgh’s arrival will only see a resumption of previous activity levels.

Timisoara, who Edinburgh have already beaten in Romania, are not expected to bring more than a handful of supporters with them. They have also lost to Stade Francais in Pool 5, and with a double-header against Harlequins to come this month, their elimination from the competition should be confirmed by the time they visit Myreside.

Edinburgh, meanwhile, have a double-header of their own before they welcome Timisoara to the city: against Stade Francais at home on Saturday, and then in Paris five days later. They are currently top of the pool, having beaten Harlequins as well as the Romanians, but after two consecutive defeats in the league, to the Ospreys and Dragons, they know they will have to make a marked improvement on recent form to ensure they remain on top after the two forthcoming games.

“It’s always grim the first couple of days when you’re trying to get over a tough loss,” winger Will Helu said. “As the week goes you just need to put things to rest and just learn from the mistakes. Every week we try and get better - you don’t go out there trying to lose. As a team and individually we need to control what we can control.

“We’ve reviewed the Ospreys game and we’ve put that to bed, but there are still mistakes that we need to fix this week. We’ve driven hard on just getting a better performance for the whole 80 minutes.

“There wasn’t a lack of effort towards the end - we did try our best to get a bonus point, but it didn’t happen for us. If you look at the last two games, it was our own errors that really put us on the back foot, so we’ll have to try and rectify that.”

The fact that Edinburgh have played some of their best rugby of the season so far in the Challenge Cup has Helu, for one, in an optimistic mind as he looks forward to Saturday night. “Against Harlequins here the intensity was right on top, game speed and so forth, attack and defence,” the Tongan international added. “It’s going to be likewise against Stade Francais - they’re a top side and you never know with the French, they could turn up and play some champagne rugby.

“We’ve got to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. They’re a tough side, there are a lot of individuals there with the X factor, backs and forwards. There are a few threats there that we need to take care of.”