EURFC 2XV in Murrayfield Final

Wednesday March 20th sees the University of Edinburgh’s men’s rugby 2XV take on the University of Glasgow’s 1XV at Murrayfield in the final of the Scottish Conference Cup. We caught up with the captain of the second team, John Stathacopoulos, to ask about the season so far and how the team are feeling ahead of Wednesday’s clash.

John Stathacopoulos, 2XV rugby captain.

How are the squad feeling about a Murrayfield final?

The squad is really excited for the trip to Murraryfield, as it is not every day we get to play outside of a university set up. I participated in the Student Sports Day at Murrayfield last year, and there was a great feel about it, with everyone getting really involved in the day as a whole. We are hoping to get a few supporters down to watch, and hopefully the game being played at Murrayfield will encourage people to come along.

What has the journey been like so far?

The season so far has been fairly up and down. Most of the games we have lost have been by the narrowest of margins, including losses to both Glasgow and Aberdeen by a point. We have a very young squad, comprised of mainly first and second years, and so we had to start from scratch at the beginning of the season. While it has been tough, the team have come together fantastically over the year, and have done incredibly well to get this far in the Cup. The boys have gone from being strangers to the best of mates during the course of the year, and this has been reflected in our game.

Are you confident going in to Wednesday’s game?

Wednesday will definitely be a challenge for us, but I have no doubt in my mind that the boys will step up to the occasion. We are going into this game as the underdogs, but it is a tag that we, as a team, embrace and thrive on. We have come a long way since we last lost to Glasgow and this time around we have a solid game plan in place, which, if we are able to execute properly, will enable us to trouble them. If we start well, I feel very confident that the lads will come out with the result that we are looking for.

EURFC 2XV looking for silverware.

And so all that remains is to wish John and his squad the best of luck. Bring home the silverware lads and make us proud!

If you happen to be free on Wednesday afternoon, why not go along and cheers the Edinburgh boys on? Venue: Murrayfield. 2 p.m. K.O.