IF there were doubts about the depth and mental strength of the Edinburgh squad following their consecutive defeats by the Ospreys, Munster and Leinster, they were surely dispelled on Friday night when Mike Blair’s team ran in eight tries in a 56-8 win over Connacht. They were without a host of players - 14 internationals from the pack alone, according to the head coach - but they played superbly once they put an awkward opening quarter behind them.
“I think it shows the resilience of the squad,” hooker Dave Cherry said after marking his 50th appearance by scoring one of his team’s tries. “We have had those three losses - in tough places to go and play, mind - but we’ve bounced back and we’re delighted with that win.”
Full-back Henry Immelman scored twice and was named man of the match, while the other touchdowns came from Blair Kinghorn, Emiliano Boffell, Ben Vellacott, Glen Young and Ramiro Moyano, with Boffelli converting all eight. Edinburgh played some imperious attacking rugby, with Kinghorn pulling the strings from fly-half, and the final tally was all the more impressive given how much pressure they had to endure in the opening quarter and more.
Connacht led by 8-0 before the home attack got going, and Cherry put the reversal of fortunes down to good work up front. “I think momentum swings,” the Scotland international added when asked how his team had managed to turn the game on its head after being forced to defend for so much of the first half.
“We got the upper hand at the maul and the scrum - I think that paid dividends in the game. We kind of sucked the life out of their forward pack and we got space out wide off the maul.
“I don’t know how it looked, but it felt fast, the first 20 minutes,” Cherry continued. “It was quite scrappy. I guess we could use that (the missing players) as an excuse, but I think we showed in the end that we’re still a team and it doesn’t matter who is out, we still have people that can come in and perform.
“So we’re pretty delighted with it. We need to push on now for the Glasgow game.”
That first 1872 Cup match of the season is at Scotstoun a week on Friday, a day before the last round of Six Nations matches. Both Edinburgh and the Warriors will therefore still have a host of players missing, with Kinghorn in particular possibly being a crucial absentee from the visitors’ ranks.
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