‘Bit more respect’: Edinburgh’s solid start will change opposition’s prep as lock reveals Scotland dream

Last season, it took the club until April to register back-to-back victories in the United Rugby Championship. This time around they’ve beaten Ulster and the Stormers in the opening fortnight.

It’s a pleasant change and Callum Hunter-Hill believes opposition teams will treat them with more respect. He also wants the Edinburgh squad to become addicted to the winning feeling.

The forward and his team-mates will travel to Italy to take on Zebre this weekend, the league’s traditional bottom dwellers but a side that have given Edinburgh plenty of problems in the past.

Hunter-Hill believes they can make it three wins in a row if they can impose their game on the hosts.

It's not been a good place for us

“We know it's going to be a really tough game,” he said. “We know it's going to be a physical game. It's not been a good place for us to go. The last four games we've only won one against them and that includes the home games as well.

“I'm excited for the challenge. We've worked on what we think they're going to bring, which is that physicality, that emotion. But at the same time, if we imprint our DNA, I think we can beat anyone really and it should be a good game.”

Hunter-Hill, in his second season back at Edinburgh after five years in England, feels like he is playing better than last year and, unsurprisingly, is loving being part of a winning team rather than one scrambling about in the lower half of the table.

“You want to be addicted to that feeling post-game,” he said. “Everyone's positive and happy and then you come in on Monday and it's a bit of a different Monday morning meeting after a win rather than a loss.

Get used to this feeling

“You really want to get used to that feeling, but also know that we've by no means cracked it. There's so many things in our game that we still need to work on.”

Edinburgh have shown different ways to win. They cut loose in their season opener against Ulster, racing into a 34-5 lead before being hauled back and eventually winning 34-29. Last Friday against the Stormers, they had to come from behind to win 17-13.

“I think Ulster maybe underestimated us a little bit in that and then they came back in the second half,” said Hunter-Hill. “We're going to go into games now, which they're going to prep us a little bit differently.

“They're going to put a bit more respect to our name and we're going to have to earn that and keep putting our foot on the throttle.”

Scotland is always the dream

He is pleased with his own form and admits he still dreams of a Scotland call-up. The lock has been in a couple of squads before but has never won a cap, missing out in 2021 when the tour to Georgia and Romania was cancelled due to Covid.

“It's always a dream,” he said. “I'm trying not to look too much further than just playing well for the club, to be honest. If things come, they come. I just want to play well here and put my part in a winning team, which I think Edinburgh, the city, deserves.

“If Scotland comes from that, then it comes. It's always in the back of my head. I want to play for my country.”