EDINBURGH skipper Mike Blair believes that the pre-season pain will lead to on-field gain as the Capital side look to build on last season's fourth-place finish in the forthcoming Magners League campaign.
Blair's side will open with a home fixture against Heineken Cup champions Munster, buoyed by the progress they have made since Andy Robinson took charge, and further boosted by close season signing activity.
Blair makes no bones about the discom
fort he and his colleagues are currently enduring, having been training hard since last Monday.
"A lot of it has been based in the gym," said Blair.
"They are working us pretty hard at the moment and it's not much fun.
"But the guys know that it's something we need to do to improve if we are going to kick on for the season. All the fitness and conditioning guys have different methods and different ideas. The way that Mark Bitcon trained us with Scotland before the World Cup is different from the way Neil Potts does it at Edinburgh.
"We are doing a lot of work on our legs, hopefully to improve our speed and agility. We'll be doing another week of that then we get a week's holiday and when we come back we'll be ploughing on with speed and plyometrics."
Blair pinpointed the inability to regularly produce their best form as the scourge of the Murrayfield-based side's efforts last season and believes that eradicating that deficiency will be key.
He added: "We played an exciting brand of rugby and the guys looked forward to going out in the Edinburgh jersey and performing but we will be looking to improve on our consistency.
"Last year we went from playing well one week to not playing well the next. It may be partly a mental thing but experience is also important. You get used to playing at a certain level, taking into account the environmental aspect and not worrying about whether it's raining or windy or sunny and just getting on with the job." Blair sees the arrival of his Scotland colleagues Jim Hamilton and Chris Paterson as having the potential to help Edinburgh into a position to challenge for honours.
He continued: "Jim has a lot of top-class experience with Leicester and hopefully he will bring a lot of knowledge to the team. He's a big guy and will bring quality to the forward pack, so we're looking forward to seeing how he goes," explained the captain.
"Chris has so much club and international experience that he is bound to be a major asset to us. He has played in big club games and to have a player like him available is a big boost for us."
For his part, Paterson, pictured right, is delighted to be back on familiar territory, insisting that he had hoped to end his period in exile at Gloucester with a return to the Capital, although the move came sooner than anticipated.
The record-breaking Scotland cap said: "I thought it would be after the two and a half years rather than one year, but I'm glad to be back now."
Despite the brevity of his absence, the 30-year-old sees changes, which he believes will ensure the Edinburgh side he has rejoined is more competitive than the one he quit amidst uncertainty over the direction the team was taking.
"Training down there was more intense than Edinburgh was when I left. It is now more intense here," he said.
"The circumstances in which I left were difficult. I didn't have a future here.
"If you are told you don't have a job, you have to go and find one. It was a sad way to end and I always wanted to be back at Edinburgh."
Now that he has spent the brief off season break settling back into familiar surroundings, he is looking forward with enthusiasm.
"I just want to get better. I don't think I've played as well as I can play yet for anyone," he said. "I feel there is still a lot more to give.
"All our training and all our weights and speed sessions are monitored and all the sciences tell me I am fitter than I have ever been before. I still feel good and I want to push myself on and make an impact for Edinburgh."
Paterson and his colleagues have had discussions with Robinson over their goals for the season and, while the player is not keen to discuss them in public, he believes they are demanding.
"We had a meeting on the first day back and outlined a few things. These things are better being kept in the squad.
"There will be more expectation because last year, as Andy says, the element of surprise helped us. After last season, people will give us more respect."
EURO CAMPAIGNS ARE LAID OUTEDINBURGH will open their European Heineken Cup rugby campaign against Leinster at Murrayfield on Saturday, October 11 (kick-off 1.35pm) after fixtures for the first four rounds of pool games were announced yesterday.
The Capital outfit's entrance to the tournament will be shown live on Sky Sports as will their subsequent fixture the following Saturday away to Castres (6.30pm).
On Friday, December 5 Edinburgh receive London Wasps with the return tie on Sunday, December 14 (1.00pm) scheduled for Sky.
Glasgow begin at Newport Gwent Dragons on October 11 with the visit of Toulouse to Firhill, six days later, due to be televised. The Warriors then face back-to-back clashes with Bath at the Recreation ground on Sunday, December 7 with a 1.00pm kick-off and cameras present before returning to Firhill a week later (2.00pm).
The full article contains 961 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
