Calum MacRae spent five seasons as Edinburgh’s defence coach, but now he’s part of the Benetton set-up plotting the capital club’s downfall in a huge URC clash on Saturday.
MacRae, who first joined Edinburgh when Richard Cockerill was appointed head coach in 2017, left the club suddenly in June 2022 to take up a role with Benetton.
Now into his second season, he reflected on life in Italy, helping the young Italian internationals within the Benetton squad and going up against familiar faces this weekend.
MacRae, a former Scotland Sevens coach, first explained what attracted him to moving to Italy.
He said: "There’s always a viewpoint that Italian rugby is turning the corner and having been out here previously [he spent a season with Venezia Mestre during his playing career], I felt it was a good opportunity for me to come out and be part of it.
“It’s not only to push Benetton first and foremost but to try and help progress the players to hopefully transfer it onto the international stage.”
MacRae admitted life in a foreign country has not been plain sailing, with the language barrier an issue particularly during his first season.
Away from the rugby pitch, he said the move was tough for his daughter Isabella, who found moving to an Italian-speaking school challenging.
MacRae said: “If you move country there are big positives to every move, it’s exciting but it comes with some bumps in the road. My wife Joanne has been brilliant in supporting the kids around education, particularly my daughter Isabella who is 14.
“She’s moved to an international school this year because the direct transition into an Italian school was too much for her at the age she was and speaking no Italian.
“This year she’s at an international school and learning the language more as a foreign speaker rather than full immersion which was a little bit the situation last year.”
MacRae himself is still learning the language, with lessons once a week alongside some of the other non-Italians at the club.
"My Italian is improving,” he continued.
“In year one there was a few meetings with my pigeon Italian where you could see the players were engaged but I’m not sure how much information they were taking in.
“The biggest thing for me being over here is if you make an effort to speak to the guys in Italian, they appreciate that.”
The language barrier won’t be an issue when MacRae hosts one of his former Scotland Sevens charges on Friday night.
Mark Robertson, Edinburgh’s strength and conditioning coach is due to visit the MacRae household on the eve of the match.
While the pair won’t swap any secrets, MacRae is looking forward to a catch-up.
"When we saw the fixtures and it was the last game of the season, Mark and I had a bit of a laugh.
“We knew it might come down to the last game given how tight the competition is, and I’m hugely looking forward to it.”
The former sevens boss was right in his prediction that there would be plenty riding on Saturday’s match.
The winner will book themselves a place in the play-offs and guarantee Champions Cup rugby for next season. The losers will most likely be heading to the beach with their season at an end.
READ MORE: Edinburgh's likely play-off route and hope for Champions Cup assessed
MacRae believes a partisan crowd at Stadio Comunale Monigo could make all the difference.
He added: “One of the things I’ve been impressed with at the club is how the guys have got the ability to find another gear at home. “Our supporters have been fantastic.
“The guys have come back in after the South Africa trip with a huge amount of energy. We had a recharge week and we’re looking forward to the challenge ahead.”
MacRae, whose playing career saw him represent The Borders, Edinburgh and Worcester, insists Edinburgh’s injury crisis hasn’t been a focus for Benetton this weekend.
READ MORE: Edinburgh's back three options assessed as injuries mount
With Wes Goosen and Harry Paterson among those unavailable, Sean Everitt may be forced to field Mark Bennett or James Lang at fullback.
MacRae said that is something every team has to cope with “They have injury considerations but as do we.
“That’s part and parcel of the league campaign, you can very rarely get to pick your front line 23 every single week and it’s one of the things you have to manage, as we are currently with a number of guys.”
While the 44-year-old doesn’t want his team to get too hung up on Edinburgh’s back-three make-up, he knows it may present opportunities.
“Obviously depending on certain combinations we will be looking to apply pressure,” he added.
"They’ve had injuries to quality players but they have strength in depth and it’s why they have the squad they’ve got.
“We’re planning for the possible team but ultimately we don’t want to move away from our DNA as a team which has made us competitive right through the season.”
And MacRae knows just how much a win would mean, not just to Benetton, but to all of Italian rugby.
He said: "It would be a huge statement from the club to where we’re looking to actually keep pushing to be one of the top teams in the competition.
"It’s brilliant the fact we’re in a great position to push for play-offs. We aren’t looking past that - Edinburgh is a massive challenge with the experience they have but at home we have great form, and the boys are really looking forward to the fight.”
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