“Everyone has to take a beating sometimes”, said Henry Hill in the gangster classic Goodfellas and Sunday's beating for Edinburgh at the hands of Racing in the last 16 of the Champions cup was a humbling experience for Edinburgh supporters.
I would venture that most of us were thinking we would lose whilst simultaneously hoping for a decent performance and an unlikely win. We didn't get either but a quick look at the Edinburgh fans Superbru league tells me that not one of our number predicted just how chastening it would be with even the most pessimistic only predicting a 29 point margin of victory in Racings’ favour.
After 5 minutes of the game even those doom mongers may have had cause to reflect on their predictions as firstly we passed up a great two on one and then scored a try only for the cursed TMO to have spotted a knock on in the build up.
Even as the half time whistle went I felt at 20-3 we were still in the game and only some poor Edinburgh errors along with some strange interpretation of who was dominant at scrum time by referee Luke Pearce had allowed Racing to build a lead.
And then the world ended.
Or so some of the fans comments on social media would have you believe with words like shame and embarrassment being bandied about willy nilly.
It was disappointing but it was hardly a bookie busting defeat. And there are reasons and there are excuses and whatever term you use both are valid.
If this was Wendy ball then before the match had kicked off someone from Edinburgh would have used that old cliche, “they have to have an off day and we have to have one of our best days”, BEST DAYS EVER I'd suggest.
To continue the football theme this was like Raith Rovers taking on Barcelona.
I’d wager that the screen at La Defense Arena probably cost more than Edinburgh’s new stadium did in its entirety.
It’s not that long ago that Edinburgh were playing at Myreside and the scoreboard was like a 1970’s cathode ray TV.
It's called perspective people and no amount of hopes and dreams and desires will change that. We are David and Racing are Goliath but in real life most of the time the little guy is the one that takes that beating.
So, about that perspective.
Point 1. We could be Scarlets. They got similarly torn apart by Sale Sharks, whom we beat not that long ago, remember? Sharks won’t win the Champions Cup. Fact. Racing just might.
Point 2. I think most of us would have a pretty good idea what a full strength Edinburgh side would be. How many times has that side took to the field this season? NOT ONCE. The closest we probably came was in December/January when we beat Sale and Glasgow in consecutive matches. I accept that's a rarity for any team but the chart below shows what I consider our best team and how often each of those listed have played for the club this season in the league
Put simply we had the players I consider to be our best fifteen available for 39% of the time. In 2019-2020 we had the same fifteen available 55% of the time.
Point 3. Some of those players have played every game of the 6N and I'm sure they would have been due a break had it not potentially been the biggest game of the club season. So returning internationals or not they were probably shattered yet trying to rise above their fatigue one more time.
Point 4. There was no one there. It didn't happen.
Summary. Tired players, some out of position, some making their first club appearance since January against one of the best sides in Europe on their home ground. Marry all that to a lack of belief and voila, a beating.
That’s the charitable bit of my assessment done. Because there are problems and some are within the club's control and some are not. Some of the problems have been laid bare by COVID but they exist outwith that bubble.
Problem 1. We are over reliant on forward dominated play and yet are being overpowered at times. It's not a new phenomenon but 20-30 phases to score a try through repeated one out passes is not only boring but we aren’t very good at it.
Problem 2. We are devoid of ideas in our attack. And in the absence of our first choice wingers we seem to have no answer of how to break the gain line. In 2019-20 Darcy and Duhan scored 17 tries between them. This year only 1. Yes, you read that right, one. That might be Ok if someone else had taken up the reins but we have only scored 31 tries in total and last year it was 67.
As Duhan is going, going and soon to be gone. We have to adapt and as difficult as it is to say we don't seem to have the quality in the midfield. Will Lang and Vellacott change that up? It remains to be seen.
Attack has to be better and it has to be more varied or it will be groundhog day. If that means a change of attack coach then so be it. Duncan Hodge is out of contract at the end of the season.
Cockers still has my faith, he’ll be glad to know, but having reached the heights we did last season this drop off is hard to stomach. It has some background which probably gives him a pass but next season the playing field will be as level as it's ever going to be for a club operating the way Edinburgh do.
It will still not be easy. He has one hand tied behind his back and it's secured there by two different ligatures. The first is the league itself continuing to schedule matches during the international windows thereby making it a contest where only those with the greatest resources will be able to flourish. The second is international rugby itself which like a black hole gobbles up everything in its path and with increasing appetite.
These last two probably won’t change and we and Cockers will have to live with it, unless of course that job in France is starting to look more appealing to him along with the weather and the rich club owner whose raison d’etre stretches no further than the team he bankrolls.
So, I'll finish on a plea to anyone with a huge disposable income to dig deep and help us out.
Come on you know you want to.
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