THREE points adrift of the Pro14 play-off spots Edinburgh know they cannot afford a slip-up in any of their remaining matches, but tomorrow’s trip to the Scarlets looks particularly important.
The last round of fixtures in the competition saw them leapfrog the Welsh regional side to move into fourth place on a night that also saw them gain ground on Italian side Treviso.
Victory this time would, then, all but kill off the Scarlets challenge and could put them back in control of their own destiny since Treviso are headed for Dublin, scene of very few away wins in any competition.
Yet if they switch places again it could be decisive the other way since the Scarlets would be expected to win their last two match matches against two of the weakest sides in the competition, Zebre and the Dragons, while Treviso also complete their schedule with a trip to Zebre, albeit they must head to Munster first.
Little wonder among that lot, then, that Edinburgh’s international back-row forward Magnus Bradbury seemed slightly confused between the standard message of taking each match as it comes, while acknowledging that there is no room for any sort of slip up between now and the end of the season.
“We’re taking each game individually. We know we what needs to happen but we’re taking it each step at a time, without relying in other results, We’re looking at these as three must win games,” he said.
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“We need to win them all. Every game we go in to, we need to win. Regardless of results. It would be nice if a couple went our way but it’s down to us at the end of the day to qualify for these play-off spots.”
In fairness to him, none of that in any way contradicts the very basic outlook of his club’s management who have moved away from the old Scottish rugby favourite of claiming that results are a side benefit of performance, in favour of driving home an understanding of a need to win, having assembled a pack in particular, that has no reason to fear any opposing unit.
Bradbury is among those at the cutting edge of that, having been arguably Scotland’s best forward at Twickenham earlier this month, only to find himself unable to earn a starting spot in the Edinburgh back-row for their Champions Cup quarter-final last weekend.
“It’s a hugely competitive moment with Barcs (John Barclay) coming back from fitness and Jamie (Ritchie) and the rest of the guys,” he acknowledged.
“It’s exciting. It’s great for the team, don’t get me wrong… but each guy is pushing the other to be the best that he can be.
“So, we’re under a lot of pressure at the moment to be the best we can be as to who is going to get these starting jerseys at the start of each week. It’s a good place for the team.”
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