Mark Fletcher: Where do Edinburgh go after 'embarrassing' Lions loss?

Edinburgh often have periods in a game where they concede, heads go down and before you know it a couple more tries have been notched. For this to start in the third minute and continue for the whole first half is a new low.

Edinburgh were powerless to stop the Lions in the first half (Image: Shutterstock) After the Leinster game, I was hauled across the social media coals for saying that Leinster were a level above Edinburgh and that we weren’t expected to win.

Saturday’s match was exactly the same as watching a tier two nation being tossed aside by one of the big boys in the opening stages of a World Cup.

I have a loyalty to the team that I support and, if only for the sake of clinging onto the hope that the cost of my season ticket wasn’t money down the drain, I searched for the positives. And there were some in the second half. Edinburgh dominated the Lions in both the scrum and the lineout.

We had the ability to build pressure and were able to create three tries. OK, the Lions had the game sewn up and eased off, but Edinburgh were showing that they had the technical skills to get the upper hand in this game.

The team took the field in the second half with the clear intention of chasing the four-try bonus point.

They came close, but threw it away as the clock turned red. I seem to be writing that sentence on a weekly basis.

Read more:

• Five things we learned as dismal Edinburgh hammered by Lions

• 'Something fundamentally wrong' with Edinburgh, says John Barclay

• Edinburgh boss Sean Everitt rebuffs questions about his future

• Edinburgh 'devastated' after Lions loss, says Ben Vellacott

So why was it such a whitewash? In a word ruthlessness. Every time the Lions got the ball in the first half, they tore through us without mercy. In contrast Edinburgh players were standing still, leaving inviting gaps to be exploited. Chase backs were half-hearted. Attempted tackles were bounced back. The rare times we had the ball, it was taken into contact removing all possibility of exploiting broken play. It was then passed deep down the line to static receivers losing territory with every action.

Edinburgh can look lethargic and listless in away matches. It kills me to say it, but on Saturday we looked lazy.

And therein lies the underlying issue with Edinburgh Rugby: their famous soft underbelly. A lack of ambition, determination, grit and abrasiveness. Edinburgh showed weakness and the Lions got their teeth stuck in.

Social media has had the inevitable reaction of “sack the coach”. I have generally given Sean Everitt the benefit of the doubt.

There has been signs of progress, but it has been like a cartoon plumber plugging a leak. Whenever he covers over one hole, water starts spurting out somewhere else. We started winning matches but losing bonus points.

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt has come under pressure in the wake of the Lions hammering (Image: SNS)

Our defence tightened, but our exit kicking became sloppy. Our scrum succeeded but our lineout failed.

Injuries have gone some way to explain the underperformance, but squad rotation and a depth of player pool would have gone some way to mitigate this.

Everitt deserved some slack in the early months. He came into the role late and at a time when the core of the team were away at the World Cup. This had its repercussions into the start of the season with the modified schedule and player availability when they did return.

Ultimately, 14 months into the role, is too long for the jury to still be deliberating. 40 minutes of humiliating rugby does nothing to help his defence.

We need to be careful about knee-jerk reactions. If Sean was to part ways with Edinburgh, we would need the confidence that we could find a long term replacement. We weren’t flooded with applications a year ago and this is the reason that Sean joined so late into preseason training.

I don’t disagree with those who have pointed out that the problem is also deep rooted and extends beyond the man in charge. A series of head coaches have come and gone in recent years. Nobody has managed to toughen up Edinburgh’s Mr Nice Guy persona.

Richard Cockerill oversaw a shift at Edinburgh, but left in the summer of 2021 (Image: SNS) The issue may be in Edinburgh’s DNA, but as supporters we have to believe that we can change. That belief and that change must come from the head coach.

There is no reason that Leinster, the Bulls or even Glasgow should be a level above us, but they are. We have experienced players, we have the budget and we have a much-celebrated academy.

The reality is that our experienced players have no experience of winning when it matters, over recent seasons more players have left than joined and very few players have made the step up beyond the Edinburgh 'A' team.

This weekend’s result was a new low, but it is far too early to right off the season. In 2022 Munster lost their first seven URC games, but still went on to lift the trophy. We knew this would be an exceptionally difficult start to the season. Had we been able to secure the four-try bonus point on Saturday, we’d have had four league points: the same as if we had won a match.

Three bonus points from the opening three matches would have been an acceptable objective going into them. The manner in which they have played out has however created increasing frustration and despair.

A reaction is needed now. Coaches and players must feel that their positions are in jeopardy. Is this what is required to awaken the inner beast?