Nick de Luca knows he'll have to show his worth to get back in the Edinburgh's side to face Leinster tomorrow night following his return from World Cup duty with Scotland, reports JOHN O'SULLIVAN
EDINBURGH COACH Michael Bradley faces a selection headache common to all the coaches in the RaboDirect Pro 12 League this weekend, namely the reintegration of players returning from the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The Scottish side face Leinster tomorrow night at Murrayfield (7.35pm) and theoretically Bradley can call upon eight players who travelled with the Scotland squad to New Zealand. In practice he may look to phase their reintroduction conscious that some of the young players who have stepped up in the absence of the internationals have acquitted themselves very capably.
Nick de Luca, who started two of Scotland’s four games in New Zealand and came off the bench against England, is taking nothing for granted in terms of selection. Footage of Edinburgh’s victory over league champions Munster made its way to the Southern Hemisphere and he was impressed by what he saw.
“At centre, James King and Matt Scott are playing well and to get myself in the team I’ll have to show my worth at training then, hopefully, coach Michael Bradley will give me a go.
“Against Munster the youngsters were phenomenal and the attitude of the entire squad, from 1-22, was great in breakdown and defence with the general work-rate outstanding as well.
“Hopefully those of us returning from the World Cup will help reproduce that from here on. Matt Scott has caught my eye when doing really well and another I’ve noticed has been Gregor Hunter. Up front Grant Gilchrist has been taking his chances along with some really good youngsters and that can only be positive for the future.”
De Luca has played a prominent role in the recent history of Edinburgh-Leinster matches with the Scottish side winning three of the last four matches between the teams at Murrayfield.
One of the many factors De Luca has in his favour where selection is concerned is a key role in two of the three wins Edinburgh have posted over Leinster on their last four trips to Murrayfield.
He is unlikely to be facing Leinster’s first-choice midfield pairing of Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll, a fact he acknowledges.
“I’m not sure what team they’ll field as, obviously, they were out in New Zealand a week longer than Scotland. But I’ve always loved playing Leinster and feel I’ve always played well against them.”
The Leinster team for the game will be announced at lunchtime today but while the province’s ranks will be bolstered by a number of internationals for forwards’ coach Jono Gibbes one of the most interesting aspects post-World Cup will be the interpretation of the laws by referees; in the case of the game in Edinburgh that is Welshman Leighton Hodges.
Gibbes explained: “You watch a couple of things, particularly at the breakdown, and you pick up a couple of things that I feel were slightly interpreted differently. But the French showed the way with physically dominating the gain-line in attack, (and showed that by) looking after the ball and getting up on your feet and offering, you can put a good defence under pressure.
“There were a couple of lessons in the way the French approached the game that reinforced a few fundamentals of the game that me and Joe (Schmidt) really believe in. You watch some of that stuff and it’s about adapting.”
In terms of the team selection Gibbes conceded: “We’re still looking at a bit of a mix and match. Some of them didn’t play a hell of a lot in New Zealand and they’ve come back raring to go, some of them physically take a bit longer to bounce back.”
