Rugby: Simon pines for chance to replicate Welsh win

The 30-year-old featured in the Melrose side that saw off Aberavon on British & Irish Cup duty and is available for selection when Edinburgh renew their Heineken Cup rivalry with Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield later this week.

While appreciative of the opportunity offered by the Borderers to secure game time, Webster makes no secret of the fact that his desire is for another taste of rugby on the European stage.

“The last two or three weeks have been good but I’m just looking for some game time for Edinburgh rather than for Melrose,” he said. “Obviously, I’m very grateful to get the games for those guys, they’ve been absolutely fantastic with me, but Edinburgh is the team I would rather be playing for. It’s just a case of working hard and hopefully the coaches see that hard work and get me back in the team.”

Webster watched on television as his colleagues succumbed 25-8 to a Cardiff outfit that now tops Pool 2. However, despite the convincing nature of the defeat, he believes that Edinburgh were competitive enough to suggest they can reverse the result in the second meeting of the teams.

“We went down to match them physically and I thought our attitude was good. But when they have a guy like Dan Parks who kicks the points the way he did, it’s difficult,” he added, pinpointing his fellow Scotland internationalist as the man capable of wreaking damage if Edinburgh’s discipline should falter.

“In these Heineken Cup games there’s not a lot between a lot of the teams. All the games over the weekend were relatively close, even the games where you thought one team would be favourites.”

And, while he expects another stern test this time around, Webster believes that Edinburgh will be ready for the challenge presented by a side that is extremely effective, but predictable.

“They don’t really hide the way they want to play and they don’t change it massively week in week out,” he explained. “It’s like they say ‘this is how we play’ and you’ve got to deal with us in defence and stop us in attack. I don’t think we were massively surprised.”

And he is adamant that the Capital team was ready for the challenge in a contest that remained finely poised at the interval with Parks nudging Cardiff into a 6-3 lead when he landed an injury-time penalty. However, the hosts dominated the second period and ran out comfortable 25-8 winners.

“It was a really good week preparation wise. It was just that on the night they were better than us. We knew what was coming. It was all the stuff we were talking about. Once their big ball carriers get a rumble on they are a difficult team to stop,” stated Webster, who believes Edinburgh have another ace up their sleeve in the form of a growing support.

The 5809 tally when Edinburgh hosted Racing Metro in the second round of fixtures was similar to the number who attended Cardiff City Stadium last Friday. However, Webster believes that the new arrangement that allows supporters to stand pitch-side is a significant enhancement to the Murrayfield atmosphere and could hand the hosts an advantage.

“To have the crowd so close to the pitch is absolutely fantastic,” he enthused. “It really does add a different atmosphere to the game. The crowd can hear the hits going in and they can hear the chat coming off the pitch. Likewise, when we are on the pitch we can hear the hustle and bustle around us. I think it’s a great idea and I just wish they had done it a while ago. The feedback we’ve had from the supporters has been really good as well.”

Edinburgh bosses have offered an incentive for spectators to turn out in big numbers for Friday’s encounter (kick-off 8.00pm) in the form of a £25 family ticket offer which will allow admission for two adults and two under 18s.