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Edinburgh Rugby: 15 (9) Newcastle Falcons: 5 (0)

ENCOURAGING OUTING AT MANSFIELD



I've spent a bit of time this summer sorting through my hefty pile of old rugby programmes in a highly cunning ploy designed to convince Mrs B that I may actually throw one or two out at some point.  In doing so, I found the programme from the last district/provincial match that I attended at Mansfield Park before this evening.  That was a Heineken Cup encounter between the Border Reivers (as they were then) and Bath in 1997.   The Reivers fielded a decent threequarter line outside a top quality international scrum half in Bryan Redpath, with the underrated Kevin 'Utt' Utterson at 12, Cammy Murray at 13, flanked by Stanger and Moncrieff on the wings.  And that behind a useful, if slightly lightweight, pack.  Plus ca change in some ways.

Some further rooting around in the pile dug up a programme from 1998, when the newly amalgamated 'Edinburgh Reivers' took on tonight's opponents, the Newcastle Falcons, this time at the Greenyards.  On the bench that night was Steve 'Stevie' Scott, who these days is, of course, the Embra forwards coach.  Interesting, too, to look at the fixture list for the two sides during those two seasons, with Edinburgh Reivers also playing Scotland's three Autumn test opponents (New Zealand Maori, South Africa and Fiji), while the Border Reivers had had a run out against the ACT the previous season.

I enjoyed trekking around the Borders back in the Edinburgh Reivers days and tonight was a reminder of why that was so much fun.  The atmosphere was good, the events on the pitch - even though it was a pre-season match - entertaining and the crowd highly knowledgeable.  Coming from reiving heritage myself, it's a bit of a home from home.  Sadly, however, the amalgamated team did not build up a core support of any real size, partly because it did not have one single base, and the sort of average crowds that Embra now secure, at 4,500 or so, are a far cry from those days. This match showed that there is a demand for provincial rugby in the Borders, also evidenced by the resurrection of the (amateur) South in the last couple of seasons as well as the bumper crowd of over 4,000 who turned up on the night.  Quite what form that will take in time, and where the third pro team that Scotland so desperately needs should be located, are questions that one hopes the new-ish regime at the SRU are thinking seriously about.  I have my views and you'll have yours.

But that is for another day and another forum.   Tonight was the first 'home' outing for the latest incarnation of Edinburgh Rugby.  After the catastrophe of last season, which was a contender for the worst I have ever seen - and there is a fair bit of competition for that - we are entering a new dawn under yet another new head coach.  This time, though, there is cause for genuine optimism.  Alan Solomons really has been there and done that.  He did a great job with Ulster and there is no reason why he cannot do the same with the Gunners, particularly as he has brought with him a defence coach who has a track record of success.  There have been some interesting signings over the summer, albeit the jury is out on several of them.  And we all know how well the current squad are capable of playing if they put their minds to it.  This is always the time of year when the good weather makes one feel positive about prospects for the new season, only to see those hopes cruelly dashed as the nights start to draw in.  But this time, it looks like we are in for a year of steady improvement. 

Let's face it, though, the only way is up after last year.

It's always difficult to read too much into any pre-season match, particularly when the coaching staff are still getting to know their charges.  Ideally you want your guys to get a bit of a scare early on, then start to purr in the final outing. Otherwise, the danger is that you begin the regular season undercooked and it can be difficult to get into the groove after a poor start. That's one reason why, for what it's worth, I would much rather Edinburgh had organised a hit-out against Premiership opposition before moving on to a couple of outings against English/French clubs.  But we are where we are.

They enjoyed a good first half this evening, Laidlaw booting them nine up at the break with three penalties, while Man of the Match Dave Denton starred taking the ball up.  The big man looks up for it and hopefully we will see a return to form after a disappointing 2012/13 campaign.  Meanwhile, the Embra defence was sound, conceding only a Godman try in the second half, after Nick de Luca had shown that his ability to incur silly cardings has not left him over the break.  Given the defensive horror shows that became the norm last term, it was encouraging to see the line in much better shape tonight.

The much maligned Piers Francis knocked over two further penalties in the second period to nail down the win on an evening that was a success both on and off the park.  It was slightly disappointing not to score a try in either of the two warm up matches, but there is enough firepower in this team to suggest that they will overcome that difficulty once the rust has been shaken off.

After last week's 24-6 reverse at Northampton, tonight's victory was a timely boost ahead of next week's Rabo opener, away to Munster.  Musgrave Park in Cork is not the same intimidating venue that Thomond is, so the Gunners should travel with some optimism.