Healy: “We’re confident but need to get wins.”

• 28 Feb 2024
• Features

Ben Healy is confident that Edinburgh can reach the promised land of the BKT United Rugby Championship play-offs, but insists his side must keep grinding out wins one game at a time, starting against Ospreys this Friday night.

Edinburgh Rugby return to league action at Hive Stadium this weekend, looking to make it three straight league wins in a row, maintaining momentum for a top-eight finish.

Healy has been the fulcrum of the capital backline so far – leading the league in points-scored and metres-kicked – and will look to continue his playmaking role under the Friday night lights, with high-flying Ospreys coming to town.

“We’re very confident of a top-eight place,” said Healy. “We just need to take it one game at a time, make sure we get wins, and then if bonus points present themselves, we take them.

“But I don’t remember the league being this tight at all. I remember growing up – it’s been called multiple different things, the PRO14, PRO12, the Rabo, Celtic League – and it was often viewed as not very competitive.

“You had the Irish teams, Scarlets and Glasgow won it, but it wasn’t very competitive.

“Whereas now, particularly with the South African teams coming in, it’s just so competitive. You have Ospreys ahead of three of the Irish provinces, which hasn’t happened for a while.

“So yeah, it’s really, really competitive, but that’s what you want. You want to play in the best league, don’t you?”

Healy has been a quality operator since switching to the capital from Munster, with his talents recognised at international level too, where he’s been named on the bench for all three of Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations fixture so far.

Healy made a short cameo in Saturday’s famous Calcutta Cup victory, an experience that will live long in the memory of the 24-year-old stand-off.

“It was great to get out there, particularly at home to England and a sold-out Scottish Gas Murrayfield. It was brilliant.

“Every time you get the opportunity to play at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, you definitely want to take it, and particularly when it’s at home to England.

“Obviously I would have liked more game time, but my main objective is I’m part of the team and I’ll try and do everything to help the team win.

“Everyone wants to play, I get that, and I do as well, but in the last few weeks a lot of my role has been preparing the team during the week, and preparing myself if I’m going to play on the weekend.

“But I wouldn’t say it’s frustrating, no. As long as you keep getting results, you won’t get frustrated, and I’ll do everything I can when I’m back here in training and when I’m with the national team to put my hand up for selection.”

With a ‘7-3’ record after 10 games, Edinburgh have enjoyed a strong start to the campaign under new Head Coach Sean Everitt – however, one area still remains a struggle: bonus-points.

The capital side have picked up just two bonus-points so far this campaign, leaving them behind the likes of league-leading Leinster who have won just one more game [8] in 2023/24.

Healy continued: “I think a lot of the bonus points that we probably missed out on at the start of the season, a lot of that probably had to do with the chop and change towards the end of pre-season. New coach and new coaching staff.

“I would say we scraped home, particularly in those early fixtures, a few games which were key for us, and it was a really good sign of where the squad was at.

“But bear in mind we had players who were playing at the World Cup and had a week to train with the team when they came in. And like I said a new head coach had just come in to try and implement what he’s doing.

“So hopefully the start of next season will be completely different for us and we’ll start picking up those bonus points.”

A bonus-point win would be huge for Healy and Edinburgh this Friday night. Not only putting distance between the capital side and the chasing pack, but providing a welcome boost ahead of next month’s two-week tour to South Africa.

“You just have to win, said Healy. “I’m not sure how many games you’ll have to win to make the top eight, it will probably depend on other results.

“But our mentality is win as many as we can and then, like I said, if bonus points are there, take them.”