Edinburgh wary of 'wounded beast' Toulon in Champions Cup - Mark Bennett

Edinburgh's performance against Montpellier has bolstered confidence for Toulon's visit

Edinburgh must beware a "wounded beast" in Toulon when the three-time European champions come to Murrayfield on Saturday, says centre Mark Bennett.

Toulon, who won the Champions Cup every year from 2013 to 2015, suffered a surprise 26-25 home loss to Newcastle in their opening group game last week.

"That was a shocking result for them so they have a point to prove," Bennett, currently injured, told BBC Scotland.

"They are going to be a wounded beast and will come out all guns blazing."

A motivated, cash-rich French giant heading to Edinburgh might have spelled fear in home ranks in the past.

But their reaction to losing 21-15 in Montpellier last weekend reflected a change in Edinburgh's mind-set, according to Bennett.

"If you had said beforehand we would get a losing bonus-point, it wouldn't have been the end of the world," he noted. "But we deserved more from a great performance.

"We had chances but didn't take them, so it was a sore one. But we have got another chance tomorrow to redeem ourselves.

"Our aim was to perform every week and gain the respect of our opposition. We performed incredibly well last week and we are going to do exactly the same again tomorrow.

"They have some very big men up front and some world-class players like [ex-All Blacks] Malakai Fekitoa and Julian Savea in the backline, but we have to take them on physically and not be overawed."

• Edinburgh recall Jaco Van der Walt v Toulon

• Edinburgh '100% should have won' - Cockerill

• Toulon stunned by Newcastle

Bennett, who has won 22 Scotland caps, is happy to acknowledge the influence of head coach Richard Cockerill in transforming Edinburgh, and believes it will have a knock-on effect for the national team.

"He has been great for the club," said the 24-year-old. "He brings a real hard edge to everything we are doing. He expects high work-rate and 100% effort in everything.

"There has not been massive changes on the pitch but he has driven a really tough mentality among the squad. That has transferred to competition for places and performances. We are in a really good spot with him.

"He gives us that confidence to perform week in, week out, and hopefully from that we will see more Edinburgh players in the Scotland squad and then the Scotland team.

"The main focus for us and Cockers is Edinburgh, but he is making changes to the players which is obviously going to help Scotland in the long run."

Bennett set to miss Six Nations

Fifteen Edinburgh players were selected alongside 16 from Glasgow in Gregor Townsend's Scotland squad for next month's autumn Tests.

But Bennett, who tore his hamstring tendon off the bone against Ulster last month, after previously missing nearly a year with cruciate knee ligament damage, admits he is unlikely to be joining them soon.

Despite a successful operation to have the tendon reattached, Bennett believes he will be "pushing it" to return in time for the Six Nations.

"For me, that is out of the picture at the minute," he added. "What is most important for me is focusing on getting fit and getting back playing.

"I have been quite unfortunate with injury and not had that many chances to play. I have only played maybe 10 or 11 games in the last 18 months."