'Edinburgh must keep the heid'
A win this weekend won't secure a play-off place for Edinburgh, not even a bonus-point win will. A loss, however, would undoubtedly mean our season is over.
We are therefore under a bit of pressure and may learn quite a bit about this team and the direction it's heading in as a result.
Confidence should be high. We have a few wins under our belt of late and our record against Zebre is a good one. We've not lost to them since 2018 and have a 76% win rate against them to crow about.
Zebre are also bottom of the league with only one victory all season.
But, win, lose, or draw, Zebre have managed to keep the score in half of their games within a seven-point margin. And despite having conceded 94 points in their last two outings they will be targeting this game as a possible win in the same way that Italy do with matches against Scotland.
Why? Because if pressure is applied there is a chance we will panic, give away penalties and then self-destruct. We've all seen it. Zebre will also remember that for 67 minutes of our last game they were in the lead and will feel that little has changed since February.
How do we combat that belief? Firstly we need to adhere to a good Scots saying and ‘keep the heid’. We also need to continue the excellent discipline we showed against Cardiff and Scarlets and we need to take our chances when they come but not force it.
It’s a common refrain that Edinburgh are underachievers. Maybe it’s more that we have an inflated sense of our worth.
If we want to begin to knock either of those assertions aside, this is a must win.
Sandy Smith can be found at the Burgh Watch
