Summer signing getting up to speed after step up from English Champ
Edinburgh Rugby have targeted two more wins in the United Rugby Championship before the international break after their unbeaten start to the season came to an end on Friday night.
Having won their opening three league games against Ulster, the Stormers and Zebre, Edinburgh are top of the table. They are due to host the Lions on Friday and will then travel to Italy to play Benetton the following week.
After that, the URC goes into cold storage for a month as the Nations Championship resumes. Geordie Gwynn, who came off the bench and scored a try against Toulon, said Edinburgh’s aim was to go into the break with five wins under their belts.
“We're obviously disappointed with the amount of errors we had in our game [against Toulon],” said the winger. “But I feel like in the URC, we've made a good start and there's still a lot we can improve on.
Edinburgh bid to go ‘five from five’
“We were pretty gutted to not get a home win, because we know how important it is in these European games.
“We've only got two games now until the international break, so we'd love to just switch back on to the URC and win those two games and go five for five before the international break. That's all we're focusing on now. We'll obviously review the game and come back with the learnings from that.”
Gwynn, 22, joined the club in the summer from Ealing Trailfinders and started all three of the URC victories. He reverted to the bench for the Toulon game as Darcy Graham made his return from injury and admitted he needs to come to terms with the step up in class after spending the last couple of seasons in the English Champ.
“Darce is an outstanding player,” said Gwynn. “And I feel like the last couple of weeks I've probably not been at my best so I had no issues with him coming back into the team.
“I just wanted to make that impact off the bench that I feel like I've maybe not made in the first couple of games of the season. And I feel hopefully a few touches on Friday night showed what I can do at this level.
“Personally, I felt like I've had some good parts, but for every good thing I've done, maybe I’ve made a bit of a mistake. And maybe that's about adjusting to the level coming from the Championship.
“The level of players is a lot higher and you can maybe get turned over a bit easier. In that Zebre game last week, I turned the ball over twice and I wasn't happy with my performance.”
Gwynn, a former Scotland Under-20 international, can also play at centre and he knows competition in the back three will be fierce as the likes of Duhan van der Merwe, Harry Paterson and Wes Goosen join Graham in returning from injury.
“Darcy is an outstanding player,” said Gwynn. “Duhi as well, coming back in. I just want to learn as much as I can from them and when I get the chance out on the pitch, just put my best foot forward as well.”