Edinburgh coach stresses importance of away wins ahead of Ospreys trip

Edinburgh started their season with a home defeat to Leinster which was followed by two losses in South Africa – including a capitulation in round three as they shipped seven first-half tries to trail the Lions 48-0 at half-time – a league record margin at the break – in Johannesburg.  

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But they have bounced back well since, earning maximum points from home games against the Stormers and Cardiff over the past two weekends.  

Ewan Ashman celebrates his bonus point-clinching try against Cardiff (Image: SNS) Todd said: “We knew what we had to fix and we’ve put our best foot forward so far but there are still obviously a lot of improvements to go. Hopefully we’ll do all right this weekend. It will be a tough battle, no doubt, but we’re heading in the right direction.” 

That tough battle takes Edinburgh to Brewery Field in Bridgend as they take on Ospreys, and Todd looked ahead to the trip.  

“I’ve never been there but obviously seen a lot of pictures of the place. It’s somewhere different. I haven’t been there and not too many others have. We know what’s coming - it’s going to be a good challenge.” 

The Welsh side are without a win in their last three games, but Todd insisted he is not looking into their league placing too much at this stage of the campaign.  

"I think they’re a great team,” he said.  

“The log doesn’t mean much at the moment because a team like Ospreys, with the amount of internationals and the quality of player…. I wouldn’t be reading too much into [the league table]. 

Justin Tipuric, who will retire at the end of the season, is among the star names in the Ospreys squad (Image: PA) “Yes, they probably want to set the tone right, especially at home, so we know what’s coming and it’s going to be a good challenge.” 

After two good wins in front of the Edinburgh supporters, Todd also knows the importance of getting back on track away from Hive Stadium.  

“If you want to go far in the competition you’ve got to win away,” he added.  

“The best teams have shown that and that’s what we’ve got to do.” 

While Edinburgh continue to prepare for Ospreys this weekend, Todd also hopes to see a healthy representation from the club when Gregor Townsend names his Scotland squad for the Autumn Nations Series on Wednesday.  

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“You want everyone to do as well as they can, especially some of the young guys coming through and, obviously, with the [Scotland] ‘A’ game there are opportunities for them. So I hope for the best for them and that we get as many as we can in the squad.” 

He believes players will have caught Townsend’s eye in Edinburgh’s back-to-back bonus point wins.  

"I’m sure there will have been a few guys who have put their hands up, especially some of the young guys and I’m really hoping they get picked for the squad,” Todd said.  

Edinburgh Rugby defence coach Michael Todd (Image: SNS) He also confirmed Edinburgh came through the Cardiff win unscathed, while the club also said Mark Bennett has undergone surgery on the torn quad he suffered in South Africa and will be out of action until February.  

With the league set to pause for the majority of November, Todd said he will enjoy some time off before he and the club’s other coaches work out a plan for the next block of URC fixtures, which starts with the visit of Benetton on November 30.  

Todd said: “I think after this game there is a couple of weeks off. 

“It’s a bit of down time and also time to reflect and see where we can get better. And we’ll be doing that because we have to improve in certain areas, see what we need to do and build a plan going forwards.” 

“It’s about how we come back from the break, that’s important for us, it’s a big work on.”