One year on from being lauded as Edinburgh skated through to the Heineken Cup semi-finals, Michael Bradley’s tenure as head coach could effectively be ended in the 1872 Cup second leg at Murrayfield.
Friday’s 23-14 defeat against Glasgow in the opening round of festive matches between Scotland’s two pro teams was not as close as the scoreline suggests, and the Warriors will head to the national stadium with some confidence for the return on Saturday evening.
Edinburgh, meanwhile, have won just two of their last 12 games, have been whitewashed without a try in the Heineken Cup campaign this year, and stand to lose the 1872 Cup for a fourth year in succession to their rivals along the M8.
The capital side did struggle in the league last year while lighting up Europe, but it was largely accepted that Bradley was putting his eggs all in one basket.
That impression was underlined with the way he changed his entire line-up between the two legs of last year’s festive matches, and it was expected Edinburgh would have been a more consistent team in selection and performance this year.
That’s happened, but it’s been at the poor league standards of last year rather than even a decent medium, and Bradley’s credit for European success last year appears already used up.
The Irishman’s contract expires at the end of the season and a second successive finish in the bottom three of the Rabodirect PRO12 surely won’t see him extended.
The way his side were overwhelmed on Friday, conceding three tries in the first 22 minutes against a Glasgow side, that like Edinburgh had been having trouble crossing the whitewash, was alarming for Bradley and Edinburgh fans.
The team did rally in the second half but hardly got into the Warriors half in the final 20 minutes after Piers Francis scored the try that could have been the springboard to a comeback.
Bradley’s explanation was players “falling off tackles” in that opening spell while skipper Grieg Laidlaw who was outstanding in a losing cause at his proper position of scrum-half pointed to Glasgow using blocking runners as a tactic to make space.
If that were so, Edinburgh must have been incredibly nave defensively to be opened up in such a way as the Warriors aren’t exactly the PRO12 league leaders in streetwise tactics.
For the second week in a row, Glasgow head coach Gregor Townsend saw some evidence of the team playing the way he wants them to play, and now can’t wait to get to Murrayfield.
“We showed the ambition in playing a wider game in the last two games that we’ve been looking for,” said Townsend.
“We did that on a pretty poor pitch and next week we’re on the best playing surface in the entire league.”
Glasgow’s fine run of wins prior to the November internationals was built on the tight pack game they have developed over the last few seasons, but against Castres last week and on Friday they have started to open out, helped by the decision to start livewire Fijian scrum-half Niko Matawalu.
The Warriors’ main problem ahead of Murrayfield is the question of fly-half, where Ruaridh Jackson had some nice touches on Friday but neither he nor Peter Horne are wholly reliable placekickers.
Duncan Weir, one of the top scorers in the PRO12 last year, is the best kicker at the club but may not be Townsend’s preference if the head coach wants to play a wider game.
stscott@thecourier.co.uk