IT is pretty much the definition of frustration:
you watch your colleagues imploding into a catastrophic mess, you know you could have done something to help but in practice there is nothing you can do because you are injured. That is exactly where David Denton, Edinburgh's Scotland No.8, found himself last weekend as his team lost 62-13 to Neath Swansea Ospreys.
Not that being on the sidelines means he has nothing to contribute. Edinburgh have a group of players aged around the 23 or 24 mark who are fast emerging as the real leaders within the side, and he is one of them. It was unfortunate - and part of the problem - that players like Denton, Matt Scott, the centre, and Grant Gilchrist, the lock who captained Scotland on the summer tour, were all injured last week, though Gilchrist is hoping to return to action tomorrow.
With Mike Coman, the club captain, also dropping out late, and Ross Ford, the hooker, rested, the only one of the internal leadership group to make the game was Andries Strauss, the centre, and he found himself overwhelmed by the tide of panic as things went from bad to worse in the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
As far as Denton is concerned the team did not do themselves justice. "I did get a rude awakening at the weekend," he said. "It is very hard to watch that. Obviously I can say what I have to say, but it is not going to make as much of a difference as being on the pitch and being able to make a difference physically.
"We have got to learn from that as a squad. Grant Gilchrist is back this week, and it will be good to have another senior player, and then myself and Matt [Scott] are looking to come back around November-ish time.
"It is very nice to suggest that the guys around 24 are the senior guys, but it is right; we are. We are a young group of players but we have a lot of experience as well. Obviously myself and Matt have a lot more international experience, Matt in particular."
On that basis, however, he is backing his colleagues to bounce back this week when the Scarlets, another dangerous Welsh side, visit BT Murrayfield. "It is important to remind everyone that we are not a bad team," he added. "A lot of the younger players, in particular, might start thinking that, so you have got to remind everyone that we had been playing some good rugby.
"We won't try to move forward from Ospreys instead we will try to go back to the style we had against Munster and when we played Leicester [in a pre-season match].
"We have to go back to those performances. This game against the Scarlets is going to be a very big one and I have every faith in the boys. If we come out and put in a good performance then it gets us back on track.
"It was a speed bump, a big speed bump in the sense of where we are as a team, so we need to make sure we have learned from this. The Scarlets is a home game and a must-win."
The key is that the Test players in the club have to lead the way, and even those like Denton and Scott who cannot contribute on the field at the moment have an off-field role in rebuilding confidence.
"You don't bury that [Ospreys] game. It is important to remember it to make sure that it never happens again. I'm sure it is a rude awakening to remind us that all the progress we have made can be undone," Denton said.
"It is time for me to stand up and take that [senior player] role on. I enjoy it. It is helped by the group of players we have around. It is a young group but at the same time it is an experienced group.
"You look at someone like Gilchrist, he is not actually that experienced in terms of international rugby but as a leader he is a very strong personality.
"Having people like him there, or Mike [Coman, the club captain], Andries [Strauss, the centre].
"Matt [Scott], helps us a lot and this is when we need the senior players to stand up."
On top of that, there has been no loss of faith in Alan Solomons' abilities as the head coach. His work ethic, love of rugby and tactical understanding have all endeared him to the players.
"Everyone is still behind Solomons 100%. He is a very, very good coach. I have never seen anyone work so hard. That is the most important thing about a coach, they love the game and are desperate to find out all the things you need to do to play it to win and he knows his stuff," Denton said.
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