Dave Denton needs a rest.
Since the start of the season he has missed just one weekend of action, and in the 11 matches he has played he has lasted the full 80 minutes in 10 of them.
He has just come through a ferocious Test series, including games against two of the top four sides in the world. As a No 8, he plays in a position where the attrition rate can be savage.
So does he retire to a health farm for a month of cosseting? Not exactly. "I think I just need to take it easy for a few days," he said in the aftermath of Edinburgh's 43-10 victory over Connacht at Murrayfield on Friday. The large ice pack that was strapped to his right knee made the point more powerfully. At least he has the luxury of time this week. The capital side have a nine-day turnaround between the Connacht game and next Sunday's home Heineken Cup clash with Gloucester.
Having beaten Munster and lost to Perpignan in the competition already, it is, potentially, a season-defining match for them - just as it is for a Gloucester side that is in exactly the same boat.
No, make that a similar boat, for the Kingsholm side's unimpressive Aviva Premiership form this season suggests they may soon prefer to focus on domestic matters anyway.
Small wonder Denton wants to be involved. "If we win this game then all of a sudden we are looking at being right in the mix of the Heineken Cup, going down to Gloucester the next week in a very strong position," he said.
"It's a great game for us to go into. We are going to try to bash them up and play a physical game. We've got the capability to put one over them."
The prospect of any kind of Heineken Cup run inevitable provokes recollections of Edinburgh's heady surge to the last four two seasons ago.
But not comparisons, as far as Denton is concerned at least. Then, they rode their luck with a squad that was perilously short of strength in depth. Now, he believes their resources are far better.
"That's why we did so badly in the league that season," he said firmly. "The Heineken Cup thing was great, something that will never be forgotten at this club, but I was very young and naive at the time.
"I was talking to Matt Scott about it the other day. At the time, we thought this pro rugby thing was easy.
"It was our first full season and we got straight to the Heineken Cup semi-final. We didn't understand then how fragile it was under our feet."
Edinburgh have bolstered their RaboDirect PRO12 position over the past month, but Denton acknowledges they have done so with home wins against the league's three bottom sides.
Glasgow also seemed to put their recent wobble behind them with Friday's 28-16 away win against the Ospreys, and the prospect of another trip to Wales, for Friday's Heineken Cup clash with Cardiff Blues, should not daunt them, although the Blues' shock 19-15 win against Toulon last month was a reminder of what can happen to complacent visitors to the Welsh city.
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