THE break in the Guinness PRO12 could not have come at a better time for Edinburgh after another dispiriting showing saw them hand a 31-22 victory and a scoring bonus point to the Ospreys.
“We put so much into this league, it has been tough. Everyone is trying so hard to get better and we are sitting 10th, which is so demoralising,” said Stuart McInally, one of the club’s co-captains.
“Everyone is hurting but nobody has a quick-fix answer. Everyone is working to try to find a solution but at the moment we don’t seem to have that. It is good for us that we head into the European Challenge Cup, take a break and focus on getting better.
“It will give us a lift. It is a competition we have had a bit of success in, so we will try to feed off that and try to get a good couple of results in the lead-up to Christmas – then we play Glasgow, can’t wait for that!”
They now have eight days to prepare to play Stade Francais at BT Murrayfield, which, after two games in Wales five days apart, at least gives them time to work on the weaknesses the Ospreys exposed.
Top priorities are the scrum and the penalty count. They hope to have Alasdair Dickinson and Ross Ford back next week, which should help though WP Nel is still a while away from returning.
As far as penalties go, the game did underline the problem with the quality of officiating in the PRO12. Even Duncan Hodge, the Edinburgh coach, was struggling to find words for the most controversial decision of the night, though it ended in a try for his side.
Before Blair Kinghorn ran in their second try, Damien Hoyland, the wing, had effectively taken out Dan Evans, the home full-back, as they waited for a kick to land.
That Irish referee Dudley Phillips awarded the score left most dumbstruck; home head coach Steve Tandy called it “borderline ridiculous” and Hodge was struggling for words. “They were watching the ball but when you watch it again, Damien .... you know ... yeah. I don’t know what the referee said,” was all he could manage.
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