Vannes v Edinburgh 11/1/25
whit a stoater
Happy new year dear readers and welcome to Brittany.
I’m going to do things a little differently this week because I am travelling to Vannes on the official trip. I won’t have my laptop with me and thanks to brexit I’ll only be able to use my phone (without incurring further cost) via wifi. So whilst I’ll probably get a heads up on what the squad will be by who is on the plane I expect the official announcement will coincide with my device inaccessability.
So i’ll speculate on the team based on chit chat and my own preferences and you’ll be able to tut tut on my guesses and choices.
It’s been a couple of weeks since our victory in the league v Glasgow. It was a hard fought 4 points and it shows that when we are under the pump we can perform. The fact remains though that despite a tenacious effort in defence that kept a free scoring Glasgow from actually crossing the line it was their preoccupation with going for the corner that cost them the game. There were probably 3-4 kickable penalty opportunities that they could/should have taken and probably won the game as a result.
Even had we lost it would still have shown a stark contrast between the two games. A contrast that we have seen too many times and if we want to achieve something in this league we need to harness the desire that we showed at Murrayfield and kick that Hampden nonsense into the long grass.
For the next two weeks though we are back competing in the Challenge Cup. We go into this weekends game top of pool 3 virtue of the commendable point we gained at Gloucester and the comfortable home win against Bayonne. Vannes are 2nd also with 6 points but have scored less tries in a home win against Gloucester and losing to Cockers Black Lion in Tbilisi.
We can look at this again later in greater detail but meantime the important thing is that the teams that finish top of the respective tables will get a home draw for the round of 16 and the quarter final.
To ensure that is us we need a win against Vannes and then dispose of the Black Lion next week at the Hive. Neither of those things should be beyond an Edinburgh team playing at an optimum level.
So, who are we facing in the game?
Vannes Rugby club come from the town of Vannes in Brittany. They play at Stade De La Rabine, which they share with the local football team. The stadium seats in the region of 16000 people.
You’ll probably find yourself asking about this but i’ve done the work for you. Their club badge is an ermine (fancy name for a stoat) and reflects the towns’ coat of arms which is also an ermine (with a cloak).
In medieval times the ermine was reputed to risk death or capture rather than sully the purity of its white fur (like many wingers) which meant it was a symbol of uncompromising personal honour.
Until 2015 Vannes were in Federale 1 (third level) and then in 2016 were promoted to Pro D2. They won that league in 2023 -2024 and were promoted to the Top 14 this year.
They’ve had a tough time of it and currently sit rock bottom of the Top 14. They have 3 wins to their name in the league. Home against Lyon and Castres and away at La Rochelle.
Their last win however was against Gloucester on December 14th. They have since lost in the league at home to Bayonne, away to Pau, and last weekend suffered a heart breaking 19-20 defeat at home to Clermont. I’ve put the highlights of that game below. Worth a look if only to see Vannes opening try which was a lovely pre-planned move from a penalty.
There are a few Vannes players you may be familiar with. In the front row former England & British Lions prop Mako Vunipola has played a lot of minutes this season and in a number of recent games, including their win against Gloucester, has been on the field for the full 80.
Also in the pack but perhaps not as often as Vunipola is Anton Bresler who will be well known to most Edinburgh supporters having played 61 games for Edinburgh between 2014 and 2017. He found his way to Vannes via Worcester and Racing 92.
Stephen Varney the Italian Scrum Half is also on the roster but hasn’t featured too often.
Former Edinburgh and Scotland U20 player Rudi Brown is on the Vannes Espoirs team. Brown made his Edinburgh senior side debut at 18 years old in March 2022 when we beat Connacht 56-8 but was released from the academy the following season. You can read more about how that came about here in Jamie Lyalls piece on Rugbypass.
https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/rudi-browns-french-odyssey/
Another familiar name at Vannes is Tongan Sione Kalamafoni who we’ve faced before when he was with Scarlets.
On a lighter note, in all ways, and I’ll say this only once, Vannes player list also features winger Theo Bastardie who sounds like a character from Allo, Allo.
To engineer the home ties I mentioned earlier I’d suggest we should be travelling with as strong a side as possible. Vannes may be struggling in the Top 14 but like all French sides they save their best for their own crowd. We have been a bit Edimbourg ourselves in that regard but this would be a good time to change that.
This would be my side for the game-
Schoeman, Cherry, Hill - Delighted to see Paul Hill fit and he should slot straight back in as will Schoeman after his day on the naughty step ended so well. I’d go with Cherry if just for his throwing but I think Everitt will go for Ashman to start. The bench will be Venter, Rae and whoever of Cherry/Ashman doesn’t start.
Gilchrist, Sykes - I’d like to see Sykes back in as the only Edinburgh player in the top 20 URC tacklers this season but I think it’l be Gilco and Sam Skinner. Whoever doesn’t start between that pair will be on the bench.
Ritchie, Muncaster, Crosbie - the flankers pick themselves and unfortunately for Magnus Bradbury Ben Muncaster is on a steep upward curve. I’ve been told that Hamish Watson is approaching a total of games beyond which a second year will be added automatically to his contract so his presence is very much a case of break glass in case of emergency. Maggie on the bench.
Vellacott, Thompson - of course it will be Price. BV will be on the bench with Healy.
Tuipulotu, Currie - game 6 in a row for this pairing if correct. It’s starting to show some promise so lets keep it going. Bench sitter will likely be Lang which also makes me wonder what transgression Matt Scott has committed?
van der Merwe. Goosen, Graham - Picks itself.
I’d guess Harry Paterson who was announced as being fit during the week will be kept in reserve until next week and worthy of mention from that same announcement was an anticipated return date for Boff which is fantastic news.
Some helpful info -
I understand that this game isn’t being broadcast on Premier Sports on their TV channels but it is being streamed on their app/website so if you aren’t travelling then there is still an avenue to watch it.
New law trials are being introduced this weekend for round 3 of EPCR games in both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup. These include -
60-second conversion limit to align with penalties and improve game pace, which will be managed by a shot clock (where possible).
30-second setup for lineouts will match time for scrums, reducing downtime – which will be managed on-field by the match officials.
Play-on rule in uncontested lineouts when the throw is not straight.
Scrum-half protection during scrums, rucks and mauls.
A full explanation of these trials can be found by clicking here
A short trip but a big weekend that will go a long way to determining our progress in this tournament. It’s also an opportunity to change the recent narrative about our ‘away’ form. The trip will be great regardless of what happens on the field but a strong performance and a win would be the icing on the gateau breton.