'Momentum not on our side' for Hampden trip after changes backfire

Key Highlights

• Not one Edinburgh player made a clean break in the entire match. The injuries sustained didn't help.
• To lose Jack Brown early in the first half as well as Ross McCann, and James Lang in the second, with Lang himself having come off the bench for Matt Currie, contributed to the already faltering cohesion. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith all those enforced changes it looked a little like Edinburgh were playing musical chairs.
• Castres took advantage and secured the five points during Piers O'Conor's yellow card period with the last two tries of the match. We were made well aware in the run-up to this game of the reasons for the changes, including the austere and inflexible SRU rest protocols. A bonus point might have been acceptable but as the weekend drew to a close, a win at Castres, which would have been a distinct possibility with a full-strength Edinburgh team, would have seen us top the group with a home tie in the round of 16 just about secured. I understand the emphasis on the next couple of games and if they go Edinburgh's way I'll be the first to praise the management of how this period was handled. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut momentum is not on our side and I doubt we are in a better place to be heading to Hampden now for the 1872 Cup first leg than we would have been with three wins in a row tucked into our socks like a well-used mouthguard. Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch.