EDINBURGH have excelled this season under head coach Mike Blair, with a solitary defeat and a single draw being the only blemishes on a winning record. And according to Nick Haining, the good news for the capital club’s supporters - and the bad news for their opponents - is that they have yet to reach their peak.
Five wins from seven games have taken Edinburgh up to second in the URC table - three places and seven points clear of Glasgow, who they play for the first time this season at Scotstoun on Monday. Back-row forward Haining expects a demanding match, as ever, but he insists that his team are going into the game in a confident frame of mind.
“Yeah, really confident,” the Scotland international said. “Results have gone really well for us over the last couple of months and we’ve been getting a bit of momentum with the way we’re playing. But we’re still not at our best - which is the really promising thing for us.
“We know it’s going to be a tough clash with Glasgow coming off a good win against Exeter last week, so it will be a big occasion, but we’re primed and ready.”
The arrival of Blair in the close season has given the Edinburgh players a latitude to express themselves that was lacking under previous coach Richard Cockerill. And, while insisting that Cockerill’s work ethic remains a vital ingredient of the team’s make-up, Haining believes that the freedom handed to them by Blair has been crucial to their success so far this season.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. Mike has come in and obviously wanted to keep a lot of the values we had previously with Cockers – the way we work hard and so on – but he’s also brought a level of enjoyment to the way we play, and encouraged us to celebrate the way we play.
“He’s set our standards really high. As a collective we really enjoy the fact we can put our hands up and challenge him – he’s quite happy to be challenged – so we talk amongst each other and say if something isn’t working then we are not going to keep it, because we are the ones out there on the pitch.
“So he gives us that guidance, but we pretty much have the final say with it. It’s just a really good collective way of thinking and playing.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here