HEINEKEN CUP ULSTER v EDINBURGH:RESULTS SPEAK for themselves and the league table never lies. Age-old sporting clichés that Edinburgh have disproved so far this season.
On the premise that the already defunct Aironi don’t count, the Scottish franchise are bottom of the RaboDirect Pro 12.
Their league results since January 1st have been shockingly poor; one victory in nine outings, with three defeats in four games at Murrayfield. They are 34 points adrift of the equally funded Glasgow Warriors and eight points behind 10th-placed Newport Gwent Dragons with a game remaining.
They have the worst defensive record in the competition, conceding 567 points, 34 more than Aironi, with a beacon of light being their ranking of eighth for points scored (410).
On those facts alone, Michael Bradley’s first season as head coach can be deemed an utter failure. But it has been nothing of the sort. Sprinkled among these mostly comprehensive defeats have been some heavyweight European scalps. The craziest result of all was the 48-47 win over Racing Metro 92 in November. A game that made no sense at all.
“We were 17-0 up after 10 minutes, the game was over,” Bradley explained. “And then it was 31-20 at half-time, they were winning. We changed a couple of things and they scored 16 more points. It was 47-20. Then we got four converted tries. It was a special day really. Not good for the heart.”
They followed that up with a 27-24 victory in Paris before topping Pool Two with a 34-11 defeat of London Irish.
Then came the biggest surprise of all as four-time European champions Toulouse were felled, 19-14 in the quarter-final, again at Murrayfield.
It set up a meeting with an Ulster side that has dismantled them twice in the past three months. With both teams at full strength, Ulster hammered Edinburgh 42-20 on January 6th. On March 2nd at Ravenhill, it ended 38-16.
A 23-13 defeat to Connacht and recent losses to the Dragons (29-15 and 21-10) gave credence to the popular theory that Bradley prioritised European outings over the Pro 12.
But the Corkman, capped 40 times by Ireland from 1984 to 1995, rejected this out of hand.
“No, I mean what you’ve got to do is manage your squad and we’ve got international requirements as well. But if you look at not necessarily our results but our performances, on the days we lost matches to the Ospreys, both games we could have won. Another eight points would’ve put us mid-table and there wouldn’t even be a discussion on it.
“It’s just the way it looks. It’s an inaccurate statement but I think the press are trying to figure out how this happened, ‘so let’s go with that one.’ ”
So, “the press” offered him a softer explanation which Bradley also refused to accept: is it next to impossible to be competitive in both competitions?
“No, I don’t think so. As I said, we performed very well in the Pro 12. We created a huge amount of opportunities but haven’t been able to take those opportunities.
“We’ve a strong squad. Sometimes, some seasons you run through difficulties with long- term injuries etc but we have quite a strong squad. If you look at team sheets for those matches we have pretty good teams out. We play against sides that also have international commitments. Everybody is in the same boat but we just haven’t been able to put sides away.”
Sometimes they are a fine, attacking rugby team, other times they are not. But Bradley cannot be criticised, as anything other than a comprehensive defeat to Ulster on Saturday marks this down as a successful first year at the helm.
It makes his inability to gain employment in the Irish provincial system – having coached Cork Con, Connacht, Ireland A and Ireland on the 2008 Southern Hemisphere tour – a curious situation. He went for the Munster job, also in 2008, before Tony McGahan was appointed.
“As a professional coach, to answer the question directly, there are only five jobs in Ireland as a head coach so you go where the work is. Before I was in Edinburgh rugby I was in Georgia , which was a great experience as well.”
He did accept that the suspension of Ulster’s New Zealand prop John Afoa is significant but remains unfazed. “We’ve a bit of ground to make up in getting over the line against Ulster. But that’s okay.”
