EDINBURGH have enjoyed a promising start to the season, winning two games, drawing a third and only losing the other in the last minute. It would not have taken much for them to have won all four of those opening matches in the URC, which is testament to how quickly Mike Blair has made an impact since becoming head coach.
But Blair himself, although not normally a glass-half-empty kind of customer, insisted that his team might just as easily have lost all of those games.
And, while confident that things are heading in the right direction, he warned that Edinburgh would have to be on their mettle when they visit Zebre Parma.
“It could probably have been four straight losses as well [as four wins],” he said after naming a team with seven changes from last week’s win against the Bulls. “Each game we’ve played in has come down to the last play. We're learning from it and understanding where we have done things well and where we can do them better.
“I feel we’re getting a better understanding of what we're trying to do. When you get that clarity and ability to be decisive, that's when you get your best rugby. We are starting to move in that direction, I believe.”
Clarity and decisiveness were not always evident in Glasgow’s game against Zebre last week. Danny Wilson’s team did eventually claw out a 17-6 win - their third on the bounce in the league. But Blair saw enough in that game to conclude that his own squad will have to be pretty wary of the threat posed by the Italians, who have lost all four of their matches to date yet invariably manage to raise their game on home soil.
“It was a tight game, wasn’t it?,” the Edinburgh coach said of the Warriors’ turgid tussle seven days ago. “It ended up going into a bit of an arm-wrestle.
“This Zebre team have some really tricky individuals – Carlo Canna, for example, who is a really smart operator. If you give him a little bit of space he’s going to take it, and he’s got a good short kicking game as well.
“We’re aware that giving them turnover ball is what they’re going to want, and they’ll play from deep in their own half as well. So it’s about having that balance between playing on top of the team when we’re going forward and being relentless with that, but also having that game strategy so you’re not giving easy field position to Zebre.
“They’re pretty lively, so we don’t want to get stuck in that arm-wrestle with them. But we believe with the selection that we’ve made we’ve got the ability to play in a number of different ways.”
Stuart McInally, the squad’s joint captain along with Grant Gilchrist, is in the team at hooker, but Jamie Ritchie has been made skipper for this game. “I see Jamie as a permanent captain of the future and it’s about giving him opportunities to develop as a captain,” Blair explained “Stuart plays this second-in-command role really well and is going to help Jamie in doing his role.
“But it’s also really important for us to continually develop our leadership group. We have to spend time with them and nurture them and make sure that they are making really good decisions on the pitch and being comfortable with what we’re trying to do as well. So it’s to give an opportunity to Jamie, but also to play to the individual’s strengths as well in terms of Stuart.”
Ritchie’s return in place of Magnus Bradbury is one of three changes in the pack, the other two being at lock, where Jamie Hodgson and Pierce Phillips play instead of the rested Gilchrist and Marshall Sykes. In the back division, Kinghorn takes over from the injured Jaco van der Walt, Cammy Hutchison and James Johnstone form a new centre combination in place of James Lang and Mark Bennett, who are also injured, and Jack Blain replaces Darcy Graham, another Scotland squad member who is being rested ahead of the autumn internationals.
Edinburgh (v Zebre Parma at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, today[Sat] 1pm British time): H Immelman; J Blain, J Johnstone, C Hutchison, D Hoyland; B Kinghorn, C Shiel; P Schoeman, S McInally, L de Bruin, J Hodgson, P Phillips, J Ritchie (captain), L Crosbie, V Mata. Substitutes: D Cherry, B Venter, L Atalifo, M Bradbury, M Kunavula, B Vellacott, C Savala, C Dean.
Zebre Parma: J Laloifi; P Bruno, G Bisegni (captain), E Lucchin, E Cronje; C Canna, A Fusco; D Fischetti, L Bigi, E Bello, D Sisi, L Krumov, J Tuivaiti, L Andreani, R Giammarioli. Substitutes: M Ceciliani, P Buonfiglio, I Neculai, A Zambonin, P Leavasa, G Palazzani, A Rizzi, M Biondelli.
Referee: F Murphy (Ireland).
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