{"id":53660,"date":"2025-04-27T02:43:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T02:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53660\/"},"modified":"2025-04-27T02:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T02:43:10","slug":"edinburgh-park-urc-play-off-pressure-to-focus-on-baths-challenge-cup-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/53660\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh park URC play-off pressure to focus on Bath’s Challenge Cup visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BoanBoan Venter is determined to push Pierre Schoeman hard for more game-time at loose-head prop for Edinburgh. Image: \u00a9 Craig Watson –
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WITH the league on hold for a week, Edinburgh\u2019s players are parking the pressure and insist they can show their true colours by winning their European Challenge Cup semi-final against Bath.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The English Premiership leaders, who have a considerable Scottish contingent, may be looking dominant in their domestic competition, but few clubs know better than Edinburgh that cup rugby is different and league form is irrelevant.<\/p>\n

For Edinburgh\u2019s try-scoring prop Boan Venter,<\/strong> the important lesson from their last match is to find the form they discovered in the final 30 minutes of their draw in Parma \u2013 and start that way when faced with knockout rugby.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHopefully, we can take our learnings and carry them into next week and the semi against Bath,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ll try to rectify what we did [in the opening 50 minutes] and get as close to a complete game as we can.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an important match. It\u2019s a proud moment for us playing in the semi-finals. We were gutted after the Zebre draw, but we\u2019ve got two days over the weekend to lick our wounds and then turn a new page on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll start the new prep and get the right foot forward. We\u2019re hungry for a win and a good performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

After all, few clubs have as much of a track record of putting their league form to one side and producing in Europe. For example, in 2012, when they reached the Champions Cup semis, they were 11th out of 12 in the league. In 2015, when they reached the Challenge Cup final, they finished 8th from 12. It can be done \u2013 and Edinburgh have proved that.<\/p>\n

The key, Venter says, is starting with the kind of intent and flair that produced the 81st-minute try they scored in Italy to draw the game. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely the focus \u2013 and then not to let the foot off the gas. If we can start like that and keep the performance up for 80 minutes at least, then we can definitely do the job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After all, Venter pointed out, Edinburgh have gone toe-to-toe with some of the most physically robust teams in the URC and more than held their ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cBath are going to take us on up front and we welcome that challenge with open arms. In the last three games, when we played the South African teams, we were definitely on a par with them \u2013 if not better,\u201d he reasoned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know the guys we played and we definitely fronted up physically. So if they [Bath] want to bring it on, we\u2019ll definitely match it \u2013 and then put a bit on top of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The irony for him is that despite a 70-minute performance that brought him two tries \u2013 both a combination of quick thinking as the ball went loose and brute force to batter through the final defenders \u2013 there is no guarantee Venter will start at the weekend, with Pierre Schoeman<\/strong> coming back into contention.<\/p>\n

Still, he does offer something extra, not just as part of a scrum that was dominant for long periods against Zebre but also able to contribute in the open, as his scores showed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to score, but it\u2019s still disappointing if it\u2019s in a game like that one. We would have loved to get the result for us and for the fans, so it\u2019s not ideal,\u201d he admitted. \u201c[Contributing in the open] is definitely something I feel I bring to the party. My aim is to do that every game \u2013 to just work hard around the park so that, hopefully, those opportunities come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The start is key. For whatever reason, the first 50 minutes against Zebre at the weekend were substandard, but he could also find encouragement in the way they recovered and salvaged at least a draw from 19-6 down.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a positive point, the boys showed great fight right up to that 80th minute, and you\u2019ve got to give credit to Cammy Scott<\/strong> for landing that last kick. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so disappointing. The vibe in the squad at the moment is that we strive to be our best every week. That\u2019s why we\u2019re so bitterly disappointed when we don\u2019t hit the mark. That speaks a lot for the character we have at the moment,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, the league will still be at the back of our heads. There are two big weekends for our campaign, but for now, the focus is only on the semi-final. We\u2019re going week by week and game by game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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