'Best foot forward' - Edinburgh performance gives ex Scotland skipper confidence for next season

Sean Everitt’s side gave the Irish club a scare at the Aviva Stadium after an eight try first half saw them trailing by just two points at the break. The visitors even took the lead in the second half through Darcy Graham’s terrific score but hosts soon moved up a gear and eventually secured their progression to the quarter finals with a 49-31 win.

It means that Edinburgh’s season is seemingly all but over as they exit the competition, leaving only the URC to compete in. While they could still mathematically make the play-offs the chances of doing so are incredibly unlikely.

Season as good as over for Edinburgh

The Scottish outfit are set to continue with former Sharks boss Everitt in charge next season, after the South African signed a two year extension in January. However, there will be a shake up to the club’s backroom staff and likely some changes in in terms of players arriving and leaving.

“Edinburgh’s season is all but done,” said Barclay. “If we were honest, how can they maintain some level of performance and consistency so that when they come back to next year, they've got new coaches and some new players coming in, that they actually start with their best foot forward.”

The former Scotland captain, who ended his playing career with Edinburgh, was speaking as part of Premier Sports punditry panel in the aftermath of the match in Dublin. Most expected a comfortable victory on the day for Leinster and while they did eventually get the job done there was still lots of positives to take from the contest for the visitors.

Edinburgh ‘gave a good account of themselves’ in Dublin

Barclay added: “They had nothing to lose. I think they put their best foot forward. I think Leinster gave them a lot of that in the first half, three intercepts and one first face try.

“But you take what you're given. I was really impressed with how they came out after half time. Darcy Graham scores early and I thought there was a lot of energy about them, a lot of aggression but there was a gulf in the two sides at the end of the day.

“We thought that might be the case but I think the challenge for Edinburgh was probably that a lot of people, myself included, thought they were going to come here and take a bit of a hiding. They gave a good account of themselves.”

Edinburgh now have the week off to rest and assess how the rest of the season will look. They have just five games remaining in the regular URC season, starting a week on Friday when they welcome bottom side Zebre to the Hive.

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