2011–12 Edinburgh Rugby season

The 2011–12 season was Edinburgh Rugby's eleventh season competing in the Pro12.

Edinburgh 2011 / 2012
Ground(s)Murrayfield Stadium (Capacity: 67,130)
CEOScotland Craig Docherty
Coach(es)Ireland Michael Bradley
Captain(s)Scotland Greig Laidlaw
Most capsScotland Roddy Grant(28)
Top scorerScotland Greig Laidlaw (250)
Most triesScotland Tim Visser (13)
League(s)Pro12
1st kit
2nd kit

Michael Bradley took over Edinburgh in the summer of 2011. He previously had been in charge of Connacht and Ireland A.

While domestically the season never really took off, the 2011–12 Heineken Cup campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history by topping Pool 2. Along the way, competing in the remarkable 48-47 match against Racing Métro and setting up a quarter final against French rugby giants Toulouse by scoring 4 tries against London Irish. The game itself was very tight, with Edinburgh holding out for a 19–14 win thanks to an early try from Mike Blair and penalties from captain Greig Laidlaw, setting up a semi-final in Dublin against Ulster.

2011 saw the introduction of numerous youngster into the squad this season, which makes the results even more astonishing. Début seasons for regular starters, 21-year-olds Matt Scott and Grant Gilchrist as well as 19-year-old Harry Leonard. And first full season for back row pair Stuart McInally and David Denton.

More than 37 881 fans, a UK record crowd for a Heineken Cup quarter final, witnessed Edinburgh become the first Scottish club to reach the Heineken Cup semi-final.[1]

Squad List

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Ross Ford Hooker   Scotland
Andrew Kelly Hooker   Scotland
Steven Lawrie Hooker   Scotland
Geoff Cross Prop   Scotland
Jack Gilding Prop   Scotland
Allan Jacobsen Prop   Scotland
Lewis Niven Prop   Scotland
Kyle Traynor Prop   Scotland
Sean Cox Lock   England
Esteban Lozada Lock   Argentina
Steven Turnbull Lock   Scotland
Roddy Grant Flanker   Scotland
Alan MacDonald Flanker   Scotland
Ross Rennie Flanker   Scotland
David Denton Flanker   Scotland
Stuart McInally Flanker   Scotland
Netani Talei Number 8   Fiji
Player Position Union
Mike Blair Scrum-half   Scotland
Greig Laidlaw Scrum-half   Scotland
Chris Leck Scrum-half   England
Phil Godman Fly-half   Scotland
Ben Cairns Centre   Scotland
Nick De Luca Centre   Scotland
John Houston Centre   Scotland
James King Centre   Scotland
Lee Jones Wing   Scotland
Tim Visser Wing   Netherlands
Sep Visser Wing   Netherlands
Simon Webster Wing   Scotland
Tom Brown Fullback   Scotland
Chris Paterson Fullback   Scotland
Jim Thompson Fullback   Scotland

Transfers 2011/2012

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Players in

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Players out

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Pro 12 League Table

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Pro12 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification[a]
1   Leinster (F) 22 18 1 3 568 326 +242 48 28 5 2 81 Play-off place
2   Ospreys (C) 22 16 1 5 491 337 +154 44 22 2 3 71
3   Munster (SF) 22 14 1 7 489 367 +122 45 27 5 4 67
4   Glasgow Warriors (SF) 22 13 4 5 445 321 +124 34 23 2 3 65
5   Scarlets 22 12 2 8 446 373 +73 43 30 5 5 62
6   Ulster 22 12 0 10 474 424 +50 53 41 5 3 56
7   Cardiff Blues 22 10 0 12 446 460 −14 43 45 5 5 50
8   Connacht 22 7 1 14 321 433 −112 27 36 0 7 37
9   Newport Gwent Dragons 22 7 1 14 370 474 −104 27 41 1 5 36
10   Benetton Treviso 22 7 0 15 419 558 −139 41 57 3 5 36
11   Edinburgh 22 6 1 15 454 588 −134 42 65 2 4 32
12   Aironi 22 4 0 18 289 551 −262 22 54 1 5 22
Updated to match(es) played on 5 May 2012. Source: RaboDirect PRO12
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[8]
  1. number of matches won;
  2. the difference between points for and points against;
  3. the number of tries scored;
  4. the most points scored;
  5. the difference between tries for and tries against;
  6. the fewest red cards received;
  7. the fewest yellow cards received.
    (C) Champions; (F) Lost in the final; (SF) Lost in the semi-finals
    Notes:
  1. ^ Qualification for the Heineken Cup is based on each country's allocation, i.e. three highest-ranked Irish teams, three highest-ranked Welsh teams, both Italian teams and both Scottish teams. Because Leinster won the 2012 Heineken Cup Final, Ireland earned an extra Heineken Cup place, which will go to Connacht. Aironi were denied a licence for the 2012–13 season due to financial issues; the newly established Zebre side replaced Aironi in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup.

Heineken Cup

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Pool stage

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Edinburgh 6 5 0 1 17 11 +6 156 138 +18 2 0 22
  Cardiff Blues 6 5 0 1 9 5 +4 145 110 +35 0 1 21
  Racing Métro 6 1 0 5 13 19 −6 160 190 −30 1 4 9
  London Irish 6 1 0 5 7 11 −4 116 139 −23 1 4 9

Quarter-finals

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7 April 2012
15:00 BST
Edinburgh  19–14  Toulouse
Try: Blair 1' c
Con: Laidlaw (1/1)
Pen: Laidlaw (3/4) 46', 51', 80'
Drop: Laidlaw (1/1) 38'
ReportTry: Matanavou 30' m
Pen: Beauxis (3/5) 5', 19', 28'
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 37,881
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Semi-finals

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28 April 2012
17:45 IST
Ulster  22–19  Edinburgh
Try: Wannenburg 15' c
Con: Pienaar (1/1)
Pen: Pienaar (5/5) 5', 38', 58', 63', 75'
ReportTry: Thompson 80' c
Con: Laidlaw (1/1)
Pen: Laidlaw (4/4) 9', 11', 40', 45'
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 45,147
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

References

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  1. ^ "Record Crowd Witnesses History". Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Edinburgh re-sign hooker Lawrie". BBC News. 21 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Currie fly-half Matt Scott joins elite development programme - Sport". Scotsman.com. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Edinburgh sign up duo from Sale". BBC News. 27 May 2011.
  5. ^ "Sale sign Edinburgh lock McKenzie". BBC News. 14 April 2011.
  6. ^ "Edinburgh's MacLeod set for Japan". BBC News. 28 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Edinburgh's Blair decides to quit". BBC News. 7 April 2011.
  8. ^ Competition Rule 3.5 "Summary of Key Rules". Pro12. Retrieved 13 November 2013.