Andy Robinson has cited the dual factors of unity and competition for places as being the key ingredients behind Edinburgh’s upsurge in form ahead of the Magners League match at second-placed Cardiff on Friday evening (4 January, kick off 7.10pm).
Since late November, Edinburgh have won four out of five games – including three victories in the Magners League – and have climbed to fifth spot in the table.
And head coach Robinson believes the togetherness of the squad combined with a constant battle for slots in the starting line-up has created a winning formula.
Robinson said: “Ever since I arrived, I was struck by the good team spirit that is here. That is not something you can buy in or manufacture.
“It is about getting on with one another and building relationships. I’ve been really impressed with the squad’s ability to pull together and work for each other. That is a great quality to have and very important for a rugby team.
“That is a factor that has really helped the team. We have also had a little bit of luck at times, but that comes from working hard on the training pitch.
“What I have been pleased about is everyone’s attitude on the training pitch towards wanting to improve. To see individuals improve in their fitness, skill development or their leadership and ability to communicate. Constantly seeing players improve has moved the team forward.
“As a coach, you want a team that has a thirst for knowledge and constantly wants to get better. As a team, you also want competition for places – I think that makes a real difference. What I’ve been pleased about is that the players are really performing and they have to because if they don’t there is someone waiting to take their place.
“It is the pride they have for the Edinburgh shirt when they put it on, but they know that if they don’t perform then someone will take their place.
“We have a settled side this week and that is recognition for the performances these players have put in. But there are 10 other players that could have been selected this week because of the way they have been performing and training.”
Robinson has also been impressed with the collective leadership shown by his young side and in the improved game management shown by the likes of Allister Hogg, 24, Mike Blair, 26 and Phil Godman, 25.
He said: “The strong leadership shown by Ally Hogg, Mike Blair and Phil Godman – the spine of the side – has been important. This has been supplemented with Ben Gissing and Ross Ford taking control of the set piece and Ross Rennie and Ben Cairns taking control of our defence.
“There has been strong leadership there and I think that has been important for the team. It has been about making decisions on the pitch and having the confidence and belief in the decisions they are making.”
The next hurdle on the fixture list is a trip to the Welsh capital to face Cardiff Blues; the club that gave the world the likes of Gareth Edwards, Barry John and Gerald Davies.
Robinson acknowledges the calibre of the opposition as being a tough opponent and highlights the threats posed by the Blues – from all over the pitch.
He said: “Cardiff is a great European club. They have held that status even before professional rugby; they are a huge club.
“Over the years, there have been some fantastic players that have played for them and in the last couple of years they have grown a fantastic squad. Although they will be under pressure having played three games in nine days, they are capable of dealing with that because of the squad they have.
“There is a back line that contains Blair, who played for New Zealand against England. Alfie Thomas is a tremendous runner, Tom Shanklin is a tremendous runner and there is Jamie Robinson as well, so there have got that flair and pace that can hurt any side.
“There have also got a forward pack with a lot of experience and a couple of world class back-row forwards plus the Wales captain is in the front row as well. So throughout the team they have got potential world class players.
“In Europe against Stade Francais they have had a couple of phenomenal results. In the next three weeks Cardiff have got the potential to make it through to the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup and their guys will be fighting to be a part of that.
“After a hard month, they will be looking to find some rhythm and I think they will be looking to put in a good performance this weekend.”
Despite the side’s recent winning streak, Robinson strongly believes the team can get even better – by putting together a polished, all-round team performance.
He said: “The focus for us has been the next match and the next challenge. We have seen patches of a complete performance in every game where we have shown either good attack or good defence.
“There has been a real rhythm about the way we are playing and an improved game understanding, but we need greater patches of that and we also need to be able to do that for a whole game.
“I thought the Leinster game was our most complete performance in attack and defence, but in saying that, I was very pleased with the way we playing in the first half against Glasgow because tactically I thought we were very smart.
“It is all about being able to play smart tactically, but also to maintain the flair in our attack. To score a try against Leinster from a first phase attack, to keep asking questions, but to also have the toughness that we showed against Leinster on our line.
“Over the last couple of months, we have shown some real potential about what we can do in attack, defence and the set-piece. But we have got to put that together each week for the whole 80 minutes.
“I guess at the moment we have been dropping off and making errors which have been pretty costly. It was costly at Leinster and Leicester and also costly last week against Glasgow.
“I think that is something everyone is learning about. The good thing is that we can get better and that is how the whole squad views our development. There is still a long way to go in what we’re doing. I think that is our focus and it is about our next challenge which is away to Cardiff.”
