Having helped his side clinch a place in the last eight of the European Challenge Cup with Friday's 38-20 victory over Bordeaux-Begles at BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh hooker Ross Ford now believes that the club is in a better place to capitalise on their success than they were three seasons ago.
In 2011-12, Ford was a leading member of the Edinburgh squad that became the first Scottish side to reach the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup. However, things went downhill almost immediately and the team failed to win a single game in the following year's competition.
Ford, though, is convinced the current squad's more youthful profile gives it a far better chance of kicking on in the seasons ahead.
"The young boys are playing well against good opposition," said the 80-times-capped forward. "For some of them to shine as they have in the past couple months has been really pleasing.
"They are the core of the team going forward, so for them to be performing like that and stepping up is good to see. The players who come in can work up to that level. They are setting a solid foundation for the future."
Ford singled out 21-year-old scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, whose 28-point contribution against Bordeaux-Begles was a club record in Europe, for particular praise. Hidalgo-Clyne, who was called into the Scotland Six Nations squad last week, was named man of the match, and Ford believes he is only going to get better.
"Sam has been playing really well for the past couple of months. He has really stamped his authority and his kicking has been phenomenal. He has grown as a player.
"He's not the finished article, but that's pleasing as well. He's playing like that but he's still got a long way to go. It's good to have someone like that in the team, knocking over the goals as he does."
Edinburgh finished eighth in last season's PRO12 table, so were denied a place in the Champions Cup, the senior European competition. However, Ford suggested that the Challenge Cup has been a better environment for the club at this stage of its development.
"We're under no illusions about it because we are in the second-tier competition," he said. "We're quite pleased with the way things have gone: winning away in France and dominating French teams here.
"We can only play the teams that are put in front of us and we're doing all right in that respect in this competition. That's where we are just now.
"Obviously, next season we are aiming for a better, but to be in this competition does allow us to build momentum and carry that on through the season and different competitions. It is good, but we don't want to be here too long. We want a top-six finish this year and then kick on next season."
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