EVEN in the worst of times, Edinburgh could generally look ahead to a fixture against Connacht as a four-point banker, but one look at the Guinness PRO12 table today will be enough to disabuse them of that notion ahead of tonight's clash with the men from the west of Iraland at Galway's Sportsground.
Edinburgh are in eighth place, a decent reflection of their performances over a season in which they were maddeningly inconsistent at the outset and rather more impressive just recently. But two places above them sit Connacht, the team that finished rock bottom in each of the three seasons between the departure of the Border Reivers and the arrival of the Italian sides, a new and powerful force in the division.
Connacht's sixth place is significant, as they will be guaranteed a Europen Champions Cup place next season if they can maintain it. There is alot of rugby to be played between now and the season's end, but after last weekend's startling, but thoroughly deserved, 24-16 victory over Munster, and their 10-9 triumph against reigning champions Leinster last September, it would be an act of gravest folly to continue to think of them as the competition's Cinderella side.
"They are a good side," said Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons. "I know them from my time in Ulster and even in those days they were very, very difficult to beat at the Sportsground. It is a very exposed field and they are used to it.
"I have never had the privilege, in all my time of going to Galway, of seeing good weather there. I am not saying they don't get it, I'm just saying I have never seen it.
"They were good value for their win over Munster. It is no mean achievement to beat a Munster side like that. They have had some big scalps this year, they are a good side and are particularly strong at the Sportsground."
Yet if Connacht's victory over their Irish rivals raised eyebrows last weekend, Edinburgh's win against Glasgow was no less noteworthy. Indeed, there were strong similarities between the two achievcments, as both had their roots in the patience of their respective coaches - Solomons at Edinburgh and former Scotland assistant Pat Lam at Connacht - in building a side from the ground up.
Solomons was criticised in his first season in charge of Edinburgh for his policy of importing a host of southern hemisphere players. As he promised then, though, he always intended to romote local talent as well, and he has delivered in recent months, most obviously in giving scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne the run of games that must surely have brought him close to a call-up to the full Scotland squad.
Hidalgo-Clyne will be in the driving seat again tonight, directing operations for a backline that shows no changes form the one chosen for the 20-8 victory over Glasgow a week ago. However, Solomons has made two personnel changes in the pack, where Hamish Watson, who has just extended his contract for another two years, comes into the back row, while WP Nel takes over from John Andress at tighthead.
With so many injured players, the first part of the season was a firefighting operation for Solomons, but he admitted yesterday that things have eased off on the casualty front and that continuity has aided his side.
"We are building a club and consistency is important," he said. "We have had to battle with consistency because of our injuries, but I am happy with the strength in depth of this squad. It is really good."
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