When Edinburgh are on top form, they tend to win matches thanks to their attacking flair – and with something to spare. But after a run of games that has seen them pick up no more than losing bonus points, there has been a change of emphasis in training this week as they prepare for tomorrow’s URC match at home to Zebre.
The focus, according to Connor Boyle, has been on attention to detail. That means, among other factors, concentrating on getting the small things right and cutting down on avoidable errors.
And perhaps most importantly, when they are on top in a particular aspect of the contest, it also means knowing how to ram home their advantage until victory is secured.
“We talked about what our strengths are in our game,” the openside flanker said. “We’ve got a really good driving maul at the moment [so] maybe leaning on that a bit more and trying to grind out teams a bit more and being physical in the last half of the game.
“I don’t think it’s a mentality thing. I think it’s just being in every moment and making sure we don’t let off the switch.”
The fact that they have picked up those losing bonuses at least shows Edinburgh that they are not too far away from winning games. Even so, after being beaten by Glasgow twice in eight days, they know they need to go out against Zebre and put in a commanding performance.
“We’ve got a lot of stuff we want to prove,” Boyle added. “It’s been a really important week for the club after losing the 1872 Cup. I think it’s really important we go out and show everything we’ve learnt from that and show how we can be resilient as a club and go out and keep getting better.”
Stuart Bathgate
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