Rugby: Metro coach Berbizier hails Edinburgh after ‘lesson’

Vanquished Racing Metro rugby coach Pierre Berbizier has generously admitted his team were “taught a lesson” in the 48-47 Heineken European Cup defeat by Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

The former international scrum half, pictured, who had three wins out of three against current Edinburgh coaching counterpart Michael Bradley of Ireland as a player, recalled the classic encounter on his return to France, saying: “This (Edinburgh) team has all the hallmarks of a traditional Scottish team.

“They have quality and confidence. It was nice in a way to be confronted by the conviction of a typical Scottish team. Their quality hurt but it’s not something that is bad for rugby. The first thing that struck me about Edinburgh is that the rugby they play is fresh. And that should always be the case.

“Also, the Scots don’t need a full Murrayfield to inspire them. They were playing in front of a 5000-crowd inside a 67,000 seater stadium. For them, a green rectangle does fine . . . Edinburgh taught us a lesson.

“I would like to think that the Scottish performance will inspire us. Edinburgh play their European matches like those in the Celtic league. They will go to Munster on Saturday with the same state of mind that they showed against us on Friday night – to play a good rugby match and to try and take the win home.”

Berbizier also told the French daily sports paper, L’Equipe: “We have to be realistic, Edinburgh played a very good match. We put in an enormous performance; all that was missing was the result.”