After unexpectedly suffering their second defeat of the season at home to Benetton last week, Edinburgh face another tough assignment on Saturday when they play Ulster in Belfast.
There were parts of that loss to the Italians where the team looked like they had reverted to their bad habits of previous seasons, but Marshall Sykes, for one, is confident they remain on the right track.
“It was really frustrating that we didn’t get the win last week,” said the second-row forward, who is expected to be in the starting line-up announced by senior coach Sean Everitt today after coming off the bench in each of his team’s previous six games. “But at the same time it was really encouraging that it was a game that we beat ourselves in. We probably could have won that game twice over if we had got a lot of the areas right around that clinical finish zone.”
Having won four of their six URC matches to date, Edinburgh are significantly more competitive than they were towards the end of Mike Blair’s two seasons in charge. And 23-year-old Sykes is convinced that Everitt, who took over in the close season, has introduced an effective game plan that will prove fruitful over the course of the campaign.
“There were maybe parts last year where certain areas might have lacked clarity,” he continued. “Sean has brought us a real clear game plan - it’s just making sure it clicks and that we are the ones that are clinical on the day.
After making those half-dozen appearances as a replacement, Sykes feels he is more than ready to start the game tomorrow night. “I’m happy to play wherever I can,” he insisted. “But obviously if I start this weekend I’ll look forward to grabbing the opportunity with both hands.”
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