Fine margins are the difference between winning and losing in the Heineken Champions’ Cup, and that hasn’t changed since Edinburgh’s run to the semi-finals in 2012 to now, says Grant Gilchrist.
The lock was in his first professional season that year, and he was reminded of how fortunes can edge either way in last week’s loss in Montpellier, a match that Edinburgh clearly believe could and should have been won.
How that game balanced – a misunderstanding cost Edinburgh a try that would have probably won the game – brought back memories of the wild games against Racing, London Irish and Cardiff Blues in the pool stages six years ago as well as the famous quarter-final against Toulouse.
“That was my first season of competitive rugby and I’ve been through a lot since then,” he said. “It’s hard to draw comparisons, but the one thing we have to understand was that it was fine margins that got us through so often then.
“We won games by a point a couple of times, two points once or twice and it doesn’t change. You’ve got to win the tight games.
“When you get the things that matter at the right times, those scoring opportunities, or defensive sets, they really count because you don’t often see teams not playing at their best at this level just because everyone gears up towards these games.
“So if both teams play well it’s going to be tightly contested and every minute matters.”
A bonus point in defeat was some consolation, but it means that this week’s game against Toulon is effectively knockout, with both teams knowing a second defeat will probably end their interest in qualification for the last eight.
“You have to win your home games at this level, if you want to get out of the pool, but we’re understanding that it’s not a gimme, it’s not a turn up and win, it’s going to be a hugely physical challenge against a Toulon side that will be looking for a reaction,” added Gilchrist.
“We’re going to have to be better than we were at the weekend ,which is what we aim to do every week. We believe we can come away with the win, but we’re understanding the size of the challenge as well.
But the Montpellier game proved that Edinburgh do belong at this level, and now the task is to step on from that to down a Toulon side struggling in the Top14 and suffering just their second home defeat in the competition they’ve won three times in the recent past.
“This is the pinnacle of club rugby and it’s great to be back playing at this l;evel and feeling that intensity,” continued Gilchrist.
“The best thing is that we’ve proved we belong from our performance on Saturday and the boys believe that had we been a bit tidier in a few places we could have come away with a win.
“There are huge positives we can take, having gone in there with a lot of guys who haven’t been in this competition and others who haven’t been there for four years so not knowing how we were going to cope.
“Now there’s proof there that we can cope and put really good teams under pressure. But to win you’ve got to be clinical and we probably weren’t in a few instances.
“But we don’t want to be plucky losers, we want to win these games and get out of the pool.”
The inexperienced players like Darcy Graham who had their first taste of that level should take huge confidence from the game, he added.
“Darcy was just outstanding at the weekend and he and the other young guys should take a lot of belief from the team they were playing against, and the atmosphere they were playing in,” he continued.
“We just go out and do it again this weekend. There’s nothing to be afraid of out there. Go and put your best game out there and see where it takes us.”
