'My main emotion is pride': Mike Blair's verdict after narrow defeat by Saracens as Edinburgh coach consoles Stuart McInally

Edinburgh coach Mike Blair excused Stuart McInally from blame and said his overall feeling after a narrow defeat by Saracens was one of “pride”.

Edinburgh finished with 13 men when WP Nel followed Stuart McInally to the sin bin, but emerged from their Heineken Cup Group A opener with a losing bonus point. The 30-26 defeat by unbeaten Gallagher Premiership leaders Saracens at the Stone X Stadium could be interpreted as a missed opportunity after an impressive performance, but Blair curtailed any frustration he may have felt.

Emiliano Boffelli was perfect with the boot, landing four penalties and converting early and late tries by Luan de Bruin and Wes Goosen. Edinburgh also led 16-12 at half time and missed a golden chance to score from a Damian Hoyland interception and breakaway at a key moment late in the second half. But a faltering scrum, three lost lineouts late in the game and two yellow cards proved costly in the closing stages.

“I’m very proud of the performance,” said Blair. “I thought physically, both sides of the ball, we were excellent. We put a lot of pressure on against a really talented and experienced Saracens team. Yes, we’ll look back at a couple of missed opportunities and things we could have done better, but my main emotion is pride.”

Damien Hoyland produced a brilliant interception for Edinburgh against Saracens but was just stopped short of the line. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images)

One of the three defensive lineouts lost by McInally late in the game led directly to a Saracens try for Maro Itoje as the Edinburgh set piece faltered, but Blair admonished his hooker from blame. “It’s not just on him,” added the coach. “The yellow card was a team offence and in the lineouts, there are lots of different bits that play a part in winning them. Stuart is an experienced player. He’ll know that there were a couple of things that he could put right, but we win and lose as a team.”

Edinburgh have a short turnaround before hosting Castres at the DAM Health Stadium on Saturday in their second Group A match and, with that in mind, Blair is keen to focus on the positive aspects of their performance ahead.

“The physical aspect and our defence,” he replied when asked what pleased him most. “I thought we got in their faces. Blair Kinghorn in particular put his body on the line. Our effort and workrate off the ball [was excellent]. We were smart with our kicking game and transfer of pressure, so we are looking forward to next week.”