Heineken Cup: Netani Talei spurred on by battle with Stuart McInally for Edinburgh No 8 jersey

AS HE prepares to face French opposition on their own patch for the first time Fijian powerhouse Netani Talei admits that one of Edinburgh’s talented youngsters is helping to motivate him.

The 28-year-old captained Fiji in the recent Rugby World Cup, but has returned to Murrayfield to vie with Stuart McInally, seven years his junior, for the club No 8 jersey. The intensity of that battle of uncapped youngsters versus experienced Test men – Chris Fusaro and John Barclay has similar intrigue at Glasgow – points to one of the most encouraging aspects currently in Scottish rugby, and one reason why Edinburgh head to Paris this evening with the Heineken Cup quarter-finals in their sights.

Talei has responded in recent weeks to the call for consistency and has no hesitation in paying tribute to McInally for helping him to improve his game.

He explained: “I know that Stuart McInally was playing in front of me and when he was given a week off because he had started a couple of games I came on the scene and thought ‘this is my chance, I have to grab it’, so I am taking my chances at the moment doing what the coaches have asked of me. This week I have to keep pushing myself.

“It is helping me as a player perform better and I am learning things from the young boys as well. I am 28, I am still learning new things. I have a few caps for Fiji, I have played a couple of games but these boys bring in new ideas and I take on board what can make me a better player as well.

“Stuart has a good rugby brain and puts himself in spaces where he gets the ball. I am different. I go for balls and if I don’t get it I lose confidence, whereas with ball in hand I am happy.

“Stuart works on and off the ball. I have learned I have to work off the ball as well rather than just on the ball. That is one good thing I have learned from him.”

Talei fell foul of the coaching staff at Edinburgh last season, his first with the club, as demands were made to increase his work-load and become a fitter and more consistent performer for the team after his move from Worcester.

The change in head coach, with Michael Bradley stepping in during the summer has Talei believes helped to refresh him, and now he feels he has to repay that with the kind of dominating, ball-carrying displays off the back of the scrum that Edinburgh dearly need to get a foothold against a powerful Racing side in Paris tonight.

“I always wanted to play Heineken Cup in my professional career,” Talei said. “I tried it last year and it is different. It is a big opportunity for the whole team at Edinburgh and myself as an individual.

“It is a chance for us to make the quarter-finals, a chance for us to put ourselves with other European countries that have been at the top of the league, that have won Heineken Cup matches as well.

“We have done really well to get where we are, but the Heineken Cup is a different ball game altogether. You have to bring your A game to every single game because one mistake you get hammered and they score tries off you. For myself, this Friday has to be one of the best rugby games of my career. It has to be my A game.

“I have been involved in bigger games with Fiji at the World Cup, but this is the biggest club game and the pressure is something we have never experienced before at Edinburgh. A win would boost my confidence and the team as well. This will be a physical game and we must grab the opportunity.”

Edinburgh have taken their A team to Paris, with there being no doubt about the importance of a game that if won would bring them within touching distance of the last eight for the first time since 2004, with London Irish the final foe at home next week.

Underlining the focus on this evening’s match among the Edinburgh players, Talei added: “For the last three weeks I have been thinking about this game. I have been playing Pro12 games trying to improve myself in every aspect of the game to get me ready for this.

“I am sweating here talking to you because I just can’t wait to play in it. It is a big game for us. I am not going to put pressure on myself but, at the same time, I am looking forward to Friday and hoping for a win.

“This is one of the defining moments of Edinburgh rugby and we have to bring everything to the table.”