So it’s farewell to the Edinboks and goodbye Porridge Free State. Yes, you might still hear a smattering of Afrikaans in the Edinburgh dressing room, but the wisecracks about the capital side’s origins are losing their currency as Scottish accents begin to dominate. When Edinburgh take on Connacht in their Guinness PRO12 meeting at BT Murrayfield this evening, they will do so with nine players in their starting XV who learned the game in these parts.
Alan Solomons, the South African coach who was responsible — and heavily criticised in some quarters — for shipping in a posse of his tried and trusted countrymen when he first took the reins at Edinburgh three seasons ago, is unquestionably delivering on his promise to promote home-grown talent once the club — it was famously described as a basket case by a senior SRU official shortly before Solomons’ arrival — had stabilised and begun to develop some of the collective ethos that has fired Glasgow over the past few years.
“My vision is to build a sustainable club through the medium of young Scottish talent,” said Solomons. “In our starting XV, we have eight guys who have come through here over the past two seasons, and another four on the bench. That’s a positive.”
Six of the seven Edinburgh backs — the exception is Phil Burleigh, the New Zealand-born fly half — are native Scots. It would be dangerous, of course, to be overly parochial about such matters but, as a reflection of how the side’s development systems are working, it is a welcome figure. At least it is so long as they can translate potential into performance and actually produce results.
Players like Chris Dean, the 21-year-old centre, and Blair Kinghorn, the 19-year-old full back, are no longer serving apprenticeships. This is the real deal: a top European league where they have to play like time-served professionals and do more than show promise. If this really is a gilded generation for Edinburgh, they still have to grow up fast.
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“This team excites me,” said Solomons. “We have had green shoots of my vision, but now we are in full swing with it. Eight in the starting side and four bench is the reality; that’s not just talk.”
Magnus Bradbury, 19, is one of that quartet of replacements, although he might have expected more, having taken over from the misfiring Cornell du Preez at No 8 in last weekend’s narrow win over Scarlets. Bradbury added thrust and direction to Edinburgh’s effort in the 20 minutes he was given, but Du Preez has been given a shot at redemption as he retains his place in the back row.
“Cornell wasn’t at his best,” said Solomons, in what may have been his starkest understatement of the season. “He knows that. We do individual reviews, and as he walked into my office he said, ‘Look, I had a shocker’. Cornell has played brilliantly for us, but he just had one of those days.
“Cornell has good experience. You don’t just judge on one game. He has played well for us over three seasons. It is a case of form being temporary and class being permanent; he is a class player who had a poor game. I see Cornell challenging very strongly [for a Scotland cap]. I think he is a gifted footballer, but Magnus is coming on leaps and bounds.”
Time was when a match against Connacht was pretty much a guaranteed win for any half-decent PRO12 side. Today, though, they stand at the top of the table with 11 victories already. Moreover, they are currently on a run of four straight wins, so to dismiss them as a team that profits from the weaknesses of others during international windows would be to ignore the fact they now have a bigger budget and better players than at any time in their history.
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Solomons said: “In days gone by they were the Cinderella province. They are no longer that, but have kept that mentality. They will fight all the way. They have confidence because they are top of the league and Pat [Lam, the Connacht coach] has a good size budget there now. They are miles ahead compared to where they used to be. You have to give them credit and they have players who have done superbly well for them.”
A win for Edinburgh, who welcome back Rory Sutherland, Matt Scott and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne from Scotland duty, could move them into the Pro12’s top four. Solomons still tends to prioritise a top-six finish, which brings guaranteed Champions Cup rugby, over a play-off slot, but he pointed out that the two achievements are not mutually exclusive. They pulled away from Scarlets in the latter stages last week, but must assert themselves earlier tonight to clinch their 10th win of the campaign.
Tonight: Edinburgh v Connacht (7.35pm). TV: BBC Two.
Edinburgh: B Kinghorn; D Hoyland, C Dean, M Scott, T Brown; P Burleigh, S Hidalgo-Clyne; R Sutherland, N Cochrane (captain), J Andress, A Bresler, B Toolis, J Ritchie, H Watson, C Du Preez. Replacements: G Turner, A Dell, S Berghan, A Toolis, M Bradbury, S Kennedy, S Beard, D Fife.
Connacht: T O’Halloran; D Poolman, B Aki, C Ronaldson, M Healy; AJ MacGinty, K Marmion; D Buckley, T McCartney, N White, Q Roux, A Muldowney, S O’Brien, J Heenan, J Muldoon (captain). Replacements: D Heffernan, F Bealham, R Ah You, D Qualter, E McKeon, C Blade, P Robb, F Carr.