At last, we are being tantalised with a taste of what we have been craving but have been deprived of for months: live rugby.

Before we get too excited, it is worth looking back at how preseason friendlies play out in Scotland and ask: are they taken seriously?

Glasgow have established themselves as mighty URC champions, but having played their friendlies are starting the season zero from two, including being nilled by the team that came in last.

As for Edinburgh, last season we had a competitive first half against Connaught, but our new South African coach established himself with a suitably South African bench consisting of an 8-7 split which was fully deployed at half time.

Read more:

The full team was subbed off and along with it our cohesion and experience. We were 19-7 up at the break but whimpered our way to a 19-45 defeat.

These matches are partly used to blood in new players and the most notable performance was Cammy Scott. Showing versatility as a potential utility back, he was secure under the high ball and on fire with ball in hand. However, this was all in vain as he was rewarded with negligible game time in competitive matches for the rest of the season.

There was another friendly, but all eyes were on failing to put up a fight in the World Cup so it went largely unnoticed. In 2022, the London Scottish pre-season friendly was extinguished early to the sound of the fire alarm.

2021 had the excitement of new stadium and new coach but an endless stream of substitutes made it unwatchable. Edinburgh have the same deep-rooted problem as the national team: an ability to secure winning positions before snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Capitulation under pressure is the modus operandi. 

Both teams have the players and skills to steal wins against any opponent but lack the dogged ruthlessness to get under the skins of better teams and to shamelessly put away lesser ones.

If ruthlessness is the missing piece of the jigsaw, can this be found by playing matches where winning is an optional extra?

Harry Paterson in action for Scotland against Canada on the summer tourHarry Paterson in action for Scotland against Canada on the summer tour (Image: Getty Images)

Scotland’s summer friendlies were frustrating to watch. It was bad enough that few rugby podcasts acknowledged that Scotland were even playing whilst all other home nations were off grinding out grudge matches. Performances on the pitch were a difficult watch.

When intricate set pieces repeatedly failed to break the defensive line and inevitably ended in inaccuracies you have to question their purpose. All too often the ball would go to ground and players would shrug in the knowledge that there would be another opportunity.

Against Tier 1 opposition, no chance can be squandered and every error will be punished. Scotland and Edinburgh need to accept that fact if they are to aspire to create the mythical 80-minute performance.

A visit from Gloucester makes for an intriguing encounter and a potential litmus test for the Edinburgh season ahead if it is taken seriously. The pair have played recently at Hive Stadium with Gloucester edgeding the game by a point which bodes well for an evenly-matched contest.

Gloucester are without two of their key players from that game. I am pleased to see Adam Hastings back in Scotland and injury free. Louis Reese-Zammit figured that after scoring a try against Edinburgh he had nothing left to achieve so retired from rugby the following week. It is also a preview of the EPCR Challenge Cup game in December.

Whoever wins on Friday will go into that match as the favourite and the confidence it provides. For the sake of the team, this is a winnable match against credible opposition. Winning begets winning and some semblance of momentum will go a long way as we face an extremely tough start to the season.

For the sake of the fans, we have paid for our tickets so deserve to have a match to watch. We feel let down by the last time Edinburgh played: missing in action against Benetton resulting a no show in the playoffs despite the URC giving us an 82% chance of progression going into the game.

Players and coaches were unanimous that the performance had not been good enough. The best apology is changed behaviours. If they are truly remorseful, the improvements must start on Friday.