Before the end of the year, Edinburgh will have played at least a European Quarter Final and a Pro14 Semi-final. Of course, we’re no strangers to European play-offs, and even some of our current squad were present for the Challenge Cup Final in 2015 but we’ve never gone all the way. In recent years that’s been a bitter pill to swallow as playoff timings have historically coincided with the moment when Edinburgh’s Pro12 and later Pro14 hopes have all but faded but this time is different.
This time you could actually be forgiven for saying that a Challenge Cup quarter-final is a bonus. A nice to have in what has been a stellar (if a little disrupted) season for Cockers and the boys. That’s because, for the first time, Edinburgh Rugby are in the Pro14 play-offs. As I write this, I still can’t quite believe it, a semi-final! It’s not even diminished by the deletion of quarter-finals, thanks to “you know what” because we topped the group, so a semi was ours whatever. Incredible!
What cannot happen is to let this one go though. It’s not a ‘good base for next season’ or a ‘confidence boost going into next year’ it has to be a win. It has to be now. Recent history is littered with examples of teams that have fallen and fallen hard. Just look at our nearest English Premiership Club, Newcastle. The best season for a long time and entry into the top tier of Europe followed swiftly by a comprehensive group stage defeat and relegation.
Even Edinburgh’s own story shows that it doesn’t last. A home Champions Cup quarter-final that wasn’t to be and in a matter of months back to the lower tiers of Europe. We’re not Leinster, we’re not Saracens living in an ivory tower of “win after win”. They do come for us, but they are hard-fought and therefore every chance could be the last for a number of years. We can beat those teams and we do, so let’s seize the day.
I can think of nothing in rugby that would make me happier than seeing Edinburgh lift some silverware but I don’t want to hear more of building, of blooding young players, of having a solid base for future seasons, I want it now!
