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Boyhood Edinburgh fan Connor Boyle determined to make his mark this season

By PA
GettyImages-1233429312

Boyhood Edinburgh fan Connor Boyle is determined to take a big step towards establishing himself in the team this season.

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The 21-year-old came on for the last 11 minutes last weekend to help his side close out a hard-fought victory in their opening United Rugby Championship match at home to Scarlets.

Boyle has now been rewarded with a rare start as one of six changes to Mike Blair’s line-up for Saturday’s clash with Benetton in Italy.

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The flanker – who came through the Edinburgh academy – is eager to keep making an impression with the team of his heart.

Boyle said: “Last weekend was brilliant because it was my first time playing a live game in front of home crowd, in the city I grew up – it was class.

“I grew up 10 minutes away from Murrayfield and went to school five minutes away. Stevie Lawrie (a coach at Edinburgh) was my PE teacher at school.

“I had a season ticket and I actually had an Edinburgh-themed birthday party when I was younger, so in terms of connections, I’m pretty well linked to the club.”

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Boyle knows he faces stiff competition for game time this term.

He said: “The Edinburgh back row is one of the most competitive in Europe. It’s amazing in terms of a learning environment for me because I’ve got Hamish Watson, who’s a Lion, Jamie Ritchie and Luke Crosbie who are all class players.

“The coaches here always tell young players that we’re trying to retire the people who are ahead of us so I just want to push on, get more game time and keep learning and improving.”

Boyle visibly enjoyed the win over Scarlets as he revved up the home crowd at the new DAM Health Stadium with passionate gestures.

He said: “Lots of my friends and people I know were at the game. I loved feeding off that energy in the crowd in the last 10 minutes. I am a passionate player – that’s who I am – so I was geeing up the crowd to help us get over the line.”

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After rousing the crowd last weekend, Boyle and Edinburgh will have to try and subdue a partisan home support in Treviso on Saturday.

He said: “Benetton are probably one of the form teams in the URC. We beat them in pre-season but we’re expecting a completely different outfit.

“They’re going to be physical up front. Italian teams are really passionate and they don’t like losing at home so we’re going to have to stem that passion and impose our own game on them.”

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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