The dates and kick-off times for Edinburgh's first four pool matches in this season's Heineken Cup have been confirmed. Rob Moffat's side will start their campaign away to Magners League rivals Cardiff Blues on Saturday 9 October (kick-off 5.45pm, and European action will return to Murrayfield seven days later with the visit of Aviva Premiership cracks Northampton Saints (Saturday 16 October, kick-off 1.30pm)
Hot on the heels of those two crunch fixtures comes the keenly-anticipated double-header against Castres. Edinburgh will travel to southern France on Saturday 11 December (kick-off 6.45pm local time), before hosting the Top 14 outfit on Sunday 19 December (kick-off 2pm). The last time the two clubs met, in the 2008 competition, Edinburgh emerged victorious from both games. The 13-6 win in the Stade Pierre Antoine was the club's first Heineken Cup success on French soil.
Head coach Rob Moffat today welcomed Edinburgh's schedule and believes the team have every chance of progressing from their pool, provided they repeat last year's excellent home form (three wins from three) and begin to deliver again away from Murrayfield.
He said: "It's similar to last year, in that we're in a pool where the ball is in our court. Last season, we won our home games and lost two close away games. To win the pool, we’ll have to win our home games again and pick up points on the road. We weren’t as good away from home last year as we were the previous year, but we’re definitely capable of picking up points.
"There aren't many grounds we’ve been to where we’ve not been really confident we can win the game. We’ve won at Castres, we’ve won at Cardiff, and I have every confidence we can go to Northampton and win there too. It's all there for us if we perform to the level we know we can. The most important thing is to get off to a good start. If we get a win in Cardiff, and our record is pretty good down there, it will really set us up for the Northampton game and for the rest of the tournament."
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW ON BLACK AND RED RADIO BELOW
The precise dates and kick-off times for Edinburgh's last two pool games, away to Northampton (weekend of 14/15/16 January 2011) and home to Cardiff (weekend of 21/22/23 January) will be confirmed at a later date.
EDINBURGH IN THE HEINEKEN CUP - POOL 1
Sat 9 October: Cardiff Blues vs Edinburgh, Cardiff City stadium, 5.45pm, S4C Sat 16 October: Edinburgh vs Northampton Saints, Murrayfield, 1.30pm, Sky Sports Sat 11 December: Castres Olympique vs Edinburgh, Stade Pierre Antoine, 6.45pm (local time), Canal + Sun 19 December: Edinburgh vs Castres Olympique, Murrayfield, 2pm
JOIN EDINBURGH'S HEROES AS THEY TAKE ON THE CREAM OF EUROPEAN RUGBY IN THE MAGNERS LEAGUE AND HEINEKEN CUP. SEASON TICKETS, INCLUDING THE FANTASTIC EDINBURGH CREW DEAL (WHICH ALLOWS AN ADULT AND CHILD TO SEE ALL THE MURRAYFIELD ACTION FOR JUST £200) ARE ON SALE NOW. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION OR CALL 0131 346 5180.
TICKETS FOR THE LONDON IRISH FRIENDLY, AT MURRAYFIELD ON FRIDAY 27 AUGUST (KICK-OFF 7.30PM), ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SAME SOURCES
