The “Edinburgh way” of risky rugby has been ditched and it’ll be a new, pragmatic capital side that open the Rabodirect PRO12 season with a tough trip to Munster on Saturday.
Coach Alan Solomons admits he’s still finding his feet after just three weeks with the squad and the situation has hardly been helped by losing 12 players to injury before the season’s kick-off, including key internationalists Greig Laidlaw and Matt Scott.
Only one of the 12 out will be gone long-term, however, and Laidlaw, re-appointed club captain on Thursday, promised a very different Edinburgh.
“The other stuff we threw out, because it didn’t work,” said the skipper when asked if the change in systems under the new coaching team had been difficult.
“I think we’re in a much better place. We want to be a tough defensive outfit and that’s something I’ve been very high on in pre-season.
“There’s no point messing with the “Edinburgh way”, that was in the past. We’ve played that way the last couple of seasons and it’s not worked.
“We’ve tried to play the ball a bit too much in our own half, you’ll definitely see a difference in that. It’s certainly a more sensible style of play mature’s a reasonable word to use.
“We haven’t had much change with the old way, so change is a good thing.”
The pre-season signs are decent with the 15-5 win over Newcastle perhaps indicative of the new direction, although it came at the cost of Laidlaw’s injury.
Sean Kennedy, the Stirling-born, Limerick-raised scrum-half will deputise for the skipper tomorrow against the team he supported as a boy.
“I lived in Limerick until I was 12 and it was all about Munster,” said the 21-year-old. “Ronan O’Gara and Peter Stringer were my favourites. It seems I’ve missed them by a season.”
Kennedy shone in limited outings for both Glasgow and Edinburgh last year and with Laidlaw out for a month, has a chance to make his case.
“I got a few games under my belt last year that should help me, but obviously this is what I came back to Edinburgh for, to get these chances and to take them.”
Sean Cox will skipper the side but Solomons is able to name an unchanged pack with only former Dundee HSFP prop Ally Dickinson new from the unit of last season.