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CHAMPIONS CUP - Fifteenth seed of the thistle from 2014 to 2017, Vern Cotter is not the only member of the Hérault staff to have a special connection with Scotland. Specialist ground game for Cistes, Richie Gray is native of the country (Cotter's deputy in selection in 2016). Where Nathan Hines, head coach of the Australian-born MHR, has 77 capes with the Scottish team.
And especially played six years in Edinburgh. He presents this opponent that Montpellier will challenge for the first time in its history, Saturday (16.15) at GGL Stadium.

Memories memories…
On 19 November 1999, Nathan Hines, a young 22-year-old second-row player, played his first professional match against Edinburgh against Grenoble (Heineken Cup). The beginning of a six-year adventure for this globe-trotter of the oval, which will then carry the colors of Usap, Leinster, Clermont and Sale. But it was with the Scottish club that he spent the most years. Marking, necessarily: "At that time, the Scottish Federation had four provinces and then it mixed two, Borders and Edinburgh.I first played in second division (Gala FC) before they ask me to become pro I remember that at that time we had to make the bus trips from Scotland to Wales to play.

We left on Friday morning, we played on Saturday and we returned in the evening after eleven hours. We did that for two years. It was hard ! I spent six seasons in Edinburgh. After a difficult first year when I injured my shoulder, then the second knee, which took me away from the field for twelve months, the club has grown by attracting famous players and we have known a lot of success. With a quarter-final H Cup lost to Toulouse (2004) and a final Cup Celtic. Beautiful memories…"

After his departure to France and Perpignan, Nathan Hines continued to follow the course of Edinburgh over the years: "I still had many friends there and it is true that there are less I played against Edinburgh four times during my two years at Leinster (2009-2011) and I always had a lot of fun with their players in the national team and Edinburgh is a club that is increasingly followed. In my time, they had trouble finding their place as a professional institution, because there were plenty of historic clubs around that people liked, but now there are, for example, twenty thousand spectators for the games against Glasgow.

Today, the fact of finding Edinburgh in front of us has no particular impact in my mind, nor in that of the other members of the staff Héraultais who exercised in Scotland. Because we have already played against Glasgow last year and it is finished. But we think of everything we know about this club and its players and so, everything we can bring to the team


Usually, Anglo-Saxon clubs are very dangerous in European Cup because they play this competition thoroughly, often at the expense of their domestic championships. But according to the former second line, this is not true for the Scots: "The Scots really play the two competitions because they are less protected by their federation than the Irish, so it's not the same. This Edinburgh team, in my opinion, has a level close to that of Glasgow that we faced last year (two wins, Ed.) But our opponents on Saturday have more structures than the Warriors and they play also differently.

They develop less play by hand but like to keep the ball. Scottish rugby has really progressed in the last ten years. In fact, it has become good since I left (smile)! More seriously, the English or Southern Hemisphere teams were initially ahead of the Scottish formations but I think this is no longer the case today. They have made great structural efforts to catch up with them and have made progress thanks to the contribution of quality players who have brought their experience and allowed young local elements to progress. "


Author of a difficult start to the season (two consecutive defeats), like the MHR, Edinburgh has recently revived and remains on two consecutive wins. Fourth in Conference B, they are undefeated at home but still run after their first away triumph this season: "It's a team that works well even though it struggled to start the season. are very well organized and stay in their system all the time, they know each other very well because they also play together in selection and have excellent coaches, Richard Cockerill brings a little bit more play and Duncan Hodge (coach of the attack, Ed.), who spent three years with Vern (Cotter) with the Scottish selection.

They are patient and I repeat, play fast. They look like Glasgow but I think are much more structured in the game. "And can also rely on beautiful individualities:" They have many talented young people like the rear Blair Kinghorn or the third line Magnus Bradbury . And also good elements in the pack like Stuart McNally, Ross Ford, Hamish Watson or Ben Toolis. And I can still quote many others. It's a nice team. There is a difference between the game developed in Pro 14 and that of the Top 14. Here, it is harder and turned to combat, power. There, it moves fast, there are more passes and it is clearer in the rucks.