MIKE BLAIR has backed Edinburgh to complete a historic sequence of results in the valleys of Wales when they tackle Newport Gwent Dragons in the Celtic League at Rodney Parade tonight.
The skipper may be sitting out the contest as part of a rotation policy but he is adamant Edinburgh can still get the win that would see them go through a complete calendar year unbeaten in Wales.
That's something never previously achieved by the
men from Murrayfield and in stark contrast to their fortunes in the early days of cross-border competition at the start of this decade.
Then, heavy thrashings were inflicted by the likes of Cardiff and Swansea and on more than one occasion.
To be fair this was in a period when Scottish teams had to quickly bridge a gap in terms of sheer professionalism at the start of a new era, and a tough wake-up call it was, too.
Nevertheless, recent fortunes speak for themselves and tonight Edinburgh, on their last trip to Wales of 2008, will look to build on recent results.
These are the 11-10 victory in the mud of Cardiff last January and further successes at Ospreys when they had to dig deep for a 19-18 triumph as well as a swashbuckling 29-12 romp at Llanelli. Completing the set is a 10-10 draw at Dragons on a wild and windy night last February.
Blair is delighted by Edinburgh's track record in the Principality and the way they have overcome a sticky start to the present campaign.
"It is an incentive knowing we can go through the year unbeaten in Wales," he said. "I think we the way we have turned things around this season is down to the fact we refused to panic.
"Before beating Llanelli last time out we sat down as a squad and watched the video of our defeat at Leinster (6-52).
"What came across was that we were going really well until a couple of individual errors let them into it, including a charge-down for a try that was a bit of a freak. These provided Leinster with momentum to blow us away in the last half hour. But we kept belief in ourselves and, although our defence dropped off at times against Llanelli to let them play a bit, we were a lot happier with our attacking play.
"Overall it came down to little things needing adjusted and avoided and we managed to do that."
While Blair hands the No. 9 jersey over to Greig Laidlaw, there will be an opportunity for regular stand-off Phil Godman to build on a growing reputation endorsed by Blair.
"We controlled the Llanelli game well with Phil putting the ball down in the corners to make them play out while we put a bit of pressure on them. Phil gave a very mature performance. We all know how good he is at bringing others into the game with ball in hand but he turned the opposition and mixed the game up really well."
While confident that Edinburgh have plenty to build on, Blair, who was nominated this week as one of five players in the running to be IRB player of 2008, insists feet have to be kept on the ground against rivals coming off the back of a rare away win at Ulster.
"Dragons will be a difficult proposition after a reasonable start," he said. "There are not many stars but they graft as a team and we definitely have to watch out as they have a lot of young, talented, guys coming through."
One player Edinburgh won't have to worry about is Dragons goal-kicker James Arlidge who, after an impressive 30 points from four starts, drops out with a shoulder injury.
However, the experienced Shaun Connor deputises in partnership with scrum-half Wayne Evans, a product of the Welsh age-group system with plenty of sevens Grand Prix experience whom Blair was ready to test his mettle against.
That showdown will have to wait as Blair sits this one out, but the Edinburgh skipper is adamant his team-mates are well equipped to pull off another triumph in Wales.
Dragons: Dollman,Wyatt, Sidey Smith, Fussell, Connor, Evans, Black, Willis, captain, R Thomas,A Jones, Charteris, Bearman, Webb, Parks. Subs. – S Jones, Gustafason, Hall, Ringer, Gomar-Davies,Tovey, Isaacs.
Edinburgh: Paterson, Turnbull, Southwell, De Luca, Robertson, Godman, Laidlaw, Jacobsen, Ford, G Cross, C Hamilton, J Hamilton, Mustchin, Hogg, captain, MacDonald. Subs. – Kelly, Kerr, Gissing, Newlands, Meyer, D Blair, Thompson.
The full article contains 766 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
