His predecessor, Andy Robinson may have meticulously sewn the seeds, but current Edinburgh head coach Rob Moffat is now reaping the harvest.
With the emphasis on attack-orientated rugby, Moffat has enjoyed some early season success and the team is currently in second place in the Magners League standings, heading into the eagerly awaited 1872 Cup derbies against old rivals Glasgow.
This season’s Heineken Cup campaign started sluggishly in the Parisian sunshine when Stade Francais defeated the away side.
But Edinburgh regrouped and produced a performance teeming with gutsy determination to secure a much-needed win over Ulster at Murrayfield. So far Edinburgh have generated an average home crowd of 4, 408 and with the next batch of home fixtures including the visits of Bath, Glasgow and Stade Francais that figure is expected to rise considerably.
Summer signing Tim Visser – the only Dutch player in a tournament sponsored by a Dutch beer – proved to be the matchwinner and scored a barnstorming try.
There has been a steady stream of positives coming out of EH12 since September – including the contribution of evergreen full-back Chris Paterson.
After signing professional terms with Edinburgh 10 years ago, Paterson has produced nearly a decade of impeccable service.
This season Paterson has chalked up 77 points – including two tries – and averaged over 14 points per game.
The 31-year-old is closing in on his 50th Heineken Cup appearance for Edinburgh – following in the footsteps of long-serving prop, Allan Jacobsen.
Another key ingredient behind the success enjoyed at Edinburgh has been the continuity behind the scenes and the promotion of the experienced Moffat ensured that the momentum and ideas generated over the past two years would remain intact.
Formerly Scotland A head coach and with over a decade of professional coaching experience under his belt, Moffat was the logical choice to succeed Robinson and the likeable Borderer acted swiftly to introduce both Tom Smith, the ex-Lions prop, and Nick Scrivener, formerly with ACT Brumbies, as his new assistants in a three-man backroom team.
Now Edinburgh’s 36-man first team squad contains 35 Scottish qualified players with Visser, the only professional rugby player from the Netherlands, being the exception.
Edinburgh now have 17 Scotland internationalists on the playing staff and almost half of the squad were born in the city; highlighting both the quality of the players and their affinity with their local team.
The last two players to earn Test caps with the national side, prop Kyle Traynor and flanker Alan MacDonald performed well during the recent Autumn Test series after impressing for Scotland A during the Nations Cup triumph in June.
The average age of the squad is still only 25 with Paterson, at just 31, the oldest player on the club’s books. So all the signs suggest the best is yet to come from a team which has now chalked up back-to-back record finishes in the Magners League.
Now with a hectic December underway – including the 1872 Cup derbies against old rivals, Glasgow – Edinburgh realise they need to take care of business before the business end of the season arrives.
As the rugby season nears the half-way point, Glasgow Warriors are now sitting in pole position in the Magners League.
Ten Warriors did themselves, their club and their country proud during their involvement in the Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn Tests and the entire Glasgow squad is now continuing that momentum with domestic and European results.
A gutsy away win over Ulster in Belfast saw the Warriors jump to the top of the league and that performance was followed by an emphatic 33-11 home win over Gloucester in the Heineken Cup – Glasgow’s first win over an English Premiership side since 2002.
The challenge now is to take their winning performances into the eagerly anticipated back-to-back 1872 Cup derby matches against Edinburgh over the festive period.
The Warriors play host to the first encounter at Firhill on Sunday 27 December (kick-off 3.05pm) and are excited about playing in front of a typically fervent home support.
Glasgow’s next home game is the 1872 Cup derby against Edinburgh on Sunday 27 December (kick-off 3.05pm). This game is live on STV.
Tickets to the 1872 Cup derby against Edinburgh - priced at £15 for adults in advance (£20 on match days), £10 for students and senior citizens and just £5 for under 18s – can be purchased now by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0844 800 3490, by logging onto www.glasgowwarriors.org or by visiting Greaves Sports (located on Gordon Street and Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow’s city centre).
