Mathie: ‘Tight group’ ready for Ulster

Edinburgh Rugby Attack Coach Scott Mathie does not mince words when reflecting on the team’s narrow Round 1 defeat to Zebre Parma last weekend, a result that felt like a punch to the gut after a promising pre-season.

“Oh, really disappointed, obviously. I guess everyone was quite frustrated with that performance,” Mathie admitted.

The defeat was compounded by errors that Mathie feels were out of character for the squad, with the Italians snatching a last-gap victory in Parma that meant Edinburgh left with just two points.

“We made some uncharacteristic errors I would say and it’s always gut-wrenching after pre-season where we really felt we’re in a good place. There’s some really good stuff that we’re doing.”

Despite the setback, Mathie stresses that this team is one forged in fire, ready to meet adversity head-on. The familiar narrative of Edinburgh struggling for consistency is one he feels the current squad is actively dismantling.

“Oh, massively,” he says when asked about the progress made. “I definitely feel that and I think it’s a collective feel around our training in the off-season, our pre-season.”

The solution, he insists, is in the collective strength and the established standards within the camp. “We have a tight group here that has gone through a lot and has come out the other side. We see this as just another test on where we’ll perform and where we’ll bounce back.”

For Mathie and the players, the pressure to perform isn’t external; it’s a standard they’ve set themselves. “They’ve created that expectation amongst themselves because they have high standards and we want to perform in every game.”

Now, the focus shifts sharply to the visit of Ulster this Friday night at Hive Stadium. It’s a match-up rich with recent history, giving the encounter a high-stakes, almost personal feel.

The teams faced off a couple of weeks ago in a pre-season friendly, which Mathie suggests was a useful exercise but not one where either side unveiled all their secrets. “You don’t want to show everything in your first game but we definitely got a good look at each other. So, there’s some things there that we’ve seen.”

Crucially, the last time Ulster visited the Scottish capital for a competitive fixture, it ended in a decisive 47-17 Edinburgh victory in the final game of last season, a result that secured the team’s place in the playoffs. That performance remains a vital blueprint.

“It shows you if you stick to the game model and you’re really accurate in what you do and how you want to go about the game that day, you get rewarded,” Mathie reflects. “So it’s a real good lesson and learning for us to be really accurate when it comes to that.”

The memory of that win, where the team’s accuracy and adherence to the plan paid off handsomely, is the well of confidence they’ll draw from.

This Friday’s clash is more than just a Round 2 fixture; it’s a golden opportunity for Edinburgh to prove their resilience and show that the progress Scott Mathie speaks of is not just talk, but a new, winning reality.