When the Edinburgh squad returns to training today after their brief Christmas break, they will not find it too difficult to look ahead to Saturday’s home game against Glasgow in an optimistic frame of mind. Although they have a 12-point deficit to overcome if they are to win the 1872 Cup, they know that in last week’s first leg at Scotstoun, they enjoyed a lot of possession and created quite a few scoring chances.
By the same token, however, they know that they failed to turn that possession into points in their 22-10 defeat. And for all the chances they had, they touched down just once, through WP Nel, with their other points coming from Ben Healy’s conversion and penalty.
So Ewan Ashman, for one, knows that an important task over the coming days will be to work out how to be more clinical in attack. “There were times in last week’s game when I thought we could have capitalised and scored more points, and that’s exactly what we’re going to have to do this week,” the Edinburgh hooker said.
“We’re going to have to be more accurate and stick to our process and reap the rewards of the territory that we had in the first half at Scotstoun. We had a lot of balls when we stuck to our game plan there. We looked sharp in the first half. We just need to score more points.”
Well, score more points and prevent the opposition from scoring so many. After playing second fiddle to their visitors in last Friday’s first half, the Warriors got on top after the break and eventually won with something to spare.
The crucial stage of the game came after continual infringing by the Edinburgh defence resulted in their captain, Grant Gilchrist, being sent to the sin bin. Glasgow scored two tries to wrap up the victory while the Scotland lock was off the pitch, and Ashman knows his team will have to maintain their discipline better while under pressure if they are to turn the tables on their rivals.
“When you’re defending your own try line, you know you have to push the boundaries,” he continued. “There are no backward steps.
“The heart of the lads from that respect was really good. It’s a fine line, and we probably weren’t getting it right. But if we show that character again and tidy a few things up, we’ll be on for a good one, for sure.
“But you can talk all the rugby and all those aspects - the system and the processes and the decision-making - but it comes down to discipline. Glasgow is an outstanding maul team and they’re really good at finishing once they get into your 22.
“You can’t allow them in your 22 as much as we did. We were under the pump down there and you could feel them building.
“They’re a class team and they’re on form, so it’s going to take a big performance. But it’s nothing we can’t do. There’s a lot of belief in our side. We’ve been playing some good rugby as well, so we can definitely do it. And they’re coming to our place, so yeah, we’re definitely looking to do a job on them. We’ll have to score a few points, be more accurate, and hopefully, it will be a good game.”
Having said all that, Ashman explained that he did not intend to waste any time during the game by glancing up at the scoreboard from time to time and fretting about the aggregate points tally. “Definitely not. I think about what I’m doing next - the ruck I’m hitting, the tackle I’m making, the next job I have.
“I’ll leave the big decisions to those decision-makers: I just get my head down and hit what’s in front of me. I definitely won’t be thinking about it, no.”
Similarly, while his head-to-head duels with the likes of Scotland rivals George Turner and Johnny Matthews may be assessed by spectators and coaches with an eye to the forthcoming Six Nations Championship, he insisted that he would go about his job in the same way that he does in any match, against any opponent.
“There’s the atmosphere around the game and the build-up, but as soon as the whistle goes, that’s out of the mind. It’s just another body in front of you.
“In saying that, there are probably certain things when you’re playing boys you know that you look out for - characteristics of their play that you’re definitely wary of. But for me it’s just another game: I don’t treat it any more personally than that. There’s a lot more chat and stuff in the game, but the job doesn’t change.”
Edinburgh have begun talks with senior coach Sean Everitt to extend his contract, according to reports. The South African joined in the close season on an initial one-year deal.
