Departing Edinburgh Rugby great Bill Mata backed to end capital career on a high

Widely regarded as the greatest overseas player to have pulled on the Edinburgh jersey, Bill Mata’s departure at the end of this season will be keenly felt but the Fijian international has been backed to go out with a bang.

Edinburgh's Viliame Mata, left, on the attack in the 19-14 win over Glasgow Warriors in the BKT United Rugby Championship match at Murrayfield Stadium, on December 30, 2023. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

The back-row forward has agreed a deal to join Bristol Bears ahead of the 2024-25 campaign but there is a lot of rugby to be played between now and then and Stevie Lawrie expects Mata to maintain the high standards he has set himself. Lawrie, the Edinburgh forwards coach, felt the No 8 excelled in the recent win over Glasgow Warriors and will continue to be a key figure for the club as they chase honours on two fronts.

“He’s been a fine servant for the club, he’s having a really good season and we expect that to continue,” Lawrie said. “He’s here until the end of the season and sometimes when these things are announced it gives you a focus to really finish on a high which I know Bill will want to do because he’s been such a good servant to the club.”

Mata, part of Fiji’s Olympic gold medal-winning sevens team in 2016, joined Edinburgh the same year and has been an outstanding contributor during seven-and-a-half seasons at the club. Lawrie described him as a joy to work with.

“Very, very diligent, easy to coach,” he said. “When you consider English is his second language he’s very switched on. I think you just get something a little bit different with Bill in terms of his ball-carrying. I thought he was excellent against Glasgow. He’s a good man and excellent to work with and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Having reached the halfway point in the URC, Edinburgh will switch their attention to the EPCR Challenge Cup this weekend when they host Gloucester. The English side have been struggling in the Premiership but have won two from two in Europe and lead the way in Pool C. Edinburgh lost their opener to Clermont Auvergne but bounced back to beat Castres and are one of four teams clustered on five points, three behind Gloucester. The top four from the six-team group qualify for the last 16 but Edinburgh will want to finish in the top two to guarantee a home tie in the first knockout round.

“Our win against Castres and the other results have blown the group wide open and it’s important we keep the momentum going,” said Lawrie. “It’s going to be tough against a good Gloucester side but we’re excited to be at the Hive.”

Gloucester were edged out 17-10 by Bath on Sunday and have now lost a club record nine in a row in the Premiership but they have been better in Europe, beating Black Lion in Georgia and Clermont at home to top the group.

“We know how good Clermont are, and that was a fantastic win,” added Lawrie. “The games that they’ve lost have been narrow losses. We know that with the coaches they’ve got, their pack is something that we’ll have to make sure we contest with, and they’ve got a bit of a threat in their back line as well with guys like Louis Rees-Zammit and Jonny May. There’s a lot of quality there.”