Connacht 21-31 Edinburgh: Three things we learnedpublished at 11:10 12 May
Jamie Lyall
BBC Sport Scotland
Image source, Getty ImagesMentality monsters required for play-off push
Edinburgh shouldn't be in this position, fretting over the results of others and glancing anxiously at the URC table as the final round clatters down the tracks.
They have spilled too many cheap points and bungled too many winnable games.
The draw in Parma against Zebre. The home defeat by the same opposition. The late sickening in Treviso. The gut-wrencher against the Sharks which should have been a bonus-point win, even allowing for the quality of opposition. Poor showings against toiling Welsh regions.
For all their caps and all their pedigree and all the money spent assembling this squad, you can't hang your hat on Edinburgh.
Saturday night in a sun-baked Dexcom looked to be following the same pull-your-hair-out routine. A 14-0 half-time lead evaporated in 13 minutes after the break. At 21-21, Connacht had the momentum and the hunger heading into the final throes.
Then Edinburgh found themselves again. A truer reflection of the sum of their parts and the character which should be their baseline. Mighty defence, breakdown snarl, and a sublime breakaway score from Charlie Shiel.
In the end, they got what they needed. But they'll need more. Maximum points when Ulster visit the Hive on Friday is effectively non-negotiable. They'll be praying Cardiff and Scarlets falter in South Africa, while Munster and Benetton, who occupy the final two spots in the top eight, meet in Limerick where something else will give.
It's far from a done deal, though.
Failure to reach the URC knockouts for three straight years would be a gross underachievement for this talented playing group and raise more uncomfortable questions for those coaching them.
Edinburgh's mentality has long been suspect. It's time for them to show us what they're really made of.
Forgotten half-backs still have a part to play
Edinburgh are not recruiting in either half-back position this summer, opting to trust what they have and supplement the senior pros with academy talent.
Ali Price is bound for France with no replacement sought for the 2021 Lion. That might present more opportunities for Shiel, once a highly-rated youngster who has faded to the periphery of the Edinburgh squad. He's 27 now, yet started a meagre 22 professional matches.
Sure, rugby's a 23-man game, but no player wants to spend all their days warming the bench. Shiel's keen vision and searing finish was a reminder of his attributes.
Ross Thompson is the front-line 10 and Sean Everitt is a great admirer of Cammy Scott, the coming man in the pivot position, who will begin to see more game time.
Where does that leave Ben Healy? The Tipperary man was Everitt's go-to fly-half last season and Finn Russell's deputy with Scotland. He went to the Rugby World Cup, played all but 20 minutes of URC rugby and became the focal point of Edinburgh's game.
Healy's fall since has been brutal. Reduced to a spectator for chunks of the campaign, out of the matchday 23 altogether and playing A games to stay sharp. This time last year, he'd played 1,356 minutes of URC rugby. To date, he's managed only 287.
Nine of those came off the bench on Saturday night, slotting the penalty which finally took the match beyond Connacht.
Shiel and Healy were unlikely heroes. Each will be determined to play more central roles next season.
There's plenty life left in Watson
At 33, Hamish Watson is no longer the untameable, undroppable berserker of Edinburgh's back-row. He's been out of the Test picture for a while now and his latest contract - a one-year deal agreed recently - is expected to be his last at the club.
Younger men are coming for his crown. Ben Muncaster has had a terrific season. Luke Crosbie's injury toils continue, but he is a warrior and seasoned international. Freddy Douglas could be a generational player in the number seven jersey that Watson has owned for an age.
The warhorse, though, still has the beastly power-weight ratio which earned him a spot on the last Lions tour.
Nobody in Galway topped his haul of 17 tackles. He seized a crucial breakdown pilfer, ran for 49m and contributed one of Edinburgh's four tries.
Watson knows he may see less action next season. His top-dog status is in jeopardy when all his rivals are fit and motoring. But there'll be no going quietly into that long night.
