# 2011–12 Edinburgh Rugby season

The 2011–12 season was Edinburgh Rugby's eleventh season competing in the Pro12.
Michael Bradley took over Edinburgh in the summer of 2011. He previously had been in charge of Connacht and Ireland A.
While domestically the season never really took off, the 2011–12 Heineken Cup campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history by topping Pool 2. Along the way, competing in the remarkable 48-47 match against Racing Métro and setting up a quarter final against French rugby giants Toulouse by scoring 4 tries against London Irish. The game itself was very tight, with Edinburgh holding out for a 19–14 win thanks to an early try from Mike Blair and penalties from captain Greig Laidlaw, setting up a semi-final in Dublin against Ulster.
2011 saw the introduction of numerous youngster into the squad this season, which makes the results even more astonishing. Début seasons for regular starters, 21-year-olds Matt Scott and Grant Gilchrist as well as 19-year-old Harry Leonard. And first full season for back row pair Stuart McInally and David Denton.
More than 37 881 fans, a UK record crowd for a Heineken Cup quarter final, witnessed Edinburgh become the first Scottish club to reach the Heineken Cup semi-final.

## Squad List

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Ross Ford | Hooker | Scotland |
| Andrew Kelly | Hooker | Scotland |
| Steven Lawrie | Hooker | Scotland |
| Geoff Cross | Prop | Scotland |
| Jack Gilding | Prop | Scotland |
| Allan Jacobsen | Prop | Scotland |
| Lewis Niven | Prop | Scotland |
| Kyle Traynor | Prop | Scotland |
| Sean Cox | Lock | England |
| Esteban Lozada | Lock | Argentina |
| Steven Turnbull | Lock | Scotland |
| Roddy Grant | Flanker | Scotland |
| Alan MacDonald | Flanker | Scotland |
| Ross Rennie | Flanker | Scotland |
| David Denton | Flanker | Scotland |
| Stuart McInally | Flanker | Scotland |
| Netani Talei | Number 8 | Fiji |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Mike Blair | Scrum-half | Scotland |
| Greig Laidlaw | Scrum-half | Scotland |
| Chris Leck | Scrum-half | England |
| Phil Godman | Fly-half | Scotland |
| Ben Cairns | Centre | Scotland |
| Nick De Luca | Centre | Scotland |
| John Houston | Centre | Scotland |
| James King | Centre | Scotland |
| Lee Jones | Wing | Scotland |
| Tim Visser | Wing | Netherlands |
| Sep Visser | Wing | Netherlands |
| Simon Webster | Wing | Scotland |
| Tom Brown | Fullback | Scotland |
| Chris Paterson | Fullback | Scotland |
| Jim Thompson | Fullback | Scotland |

## Transfers 2011/2012
### Players in

* Steven Lawrie from Doncaster
* Matthew Scott - Currie RFC
* Sean Cox - Sale Sharks
* Chris Leck - Sale Sharks
* Alex Black - Leeds Carnegie
* Sep Visser - Tynedale R.F.C. (will have dual registration with Boroughmuir RFC)

### Players out

* Fraser McKenzie - Sale Sharks
* Scott Macleod - Kobelco Steelers
* David Blair - Retired
* Craig Hamilton - Tarbes
* Mark Robertson - Scotland 7s
* Scott Newlands - Oyonnax
* David Young - Leeds Carnegie
* Simon Webster - Retired

## Pro 12 League Table

Pro12 Table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leinster (F) | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 568 | 326 | +242 | 48 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 81 | Play-off place |
| 2 | Ospreys (C) | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 491 | 337 | +154 | 44 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 71 | Play-off place |
| 3 | Munster (SF) | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 489 | 367 | +122 | 45 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 67 | Play-off place |
| 4 | Glasgow Warriors (SF) | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 445 | 321 | +124 | 34 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 65 | Play-off place |
| 5 | Scarlets | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 446 | 373 | +73 | 43 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 62 | |
| 6 | Ulster | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 474 | 424 | +50 | 53 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 56 | |
| 7 | Cardiff Blues | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 446 | 460 | −14 | 43 | 45 | 5 | 5 | 50 | |
| 8 | Connacht | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 321 | 433 | −112 | 27 | 36 | 0 | 7 | 37 | |
| 9 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 370 | 474 | −104 | 27 | 41 | 1 | 5 | 36 | |
| 10 | Benetton Treviso | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 419 | 558 | −139 | 41 | 57 | 3 | 5 | 36 | |
| 11 | Edinburgh | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 454 | 588 | −134 | 42 | 65 | 2 | 4 | 32 | |
| 12 | Aironi | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 289 | 551 | −262 | 22 | 54 | 1 | 5 | 22 | |
* number of matches won;
* the difference between points for and points against;
* the number of tries scored;
* the most points scored;
* the difference between tries for and tries against;
* the fewest red cards received;
* the fewest yellow cards received. (C) Champions; (F) Lost in the final; (SF) Lost in the semi-finals Notes:
* ↑ Qualification for the Heineken Cup is based on each country's allocation, i.e. three highest-ranked Irish teams, three highest-ranked Welsh teams, both Italian teams and both Scottish teams. Because Leinster won the 2012 Heineken Cup Final, Ireland earned an extra Heineken Cup place, which will go to Connacht. Aironi were denied a licence for the 2012–13 season due to financial issues; the newly established Zebre side replaced Aironi in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup.

## Heineken Cup
### Pool stage

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Edinburgh | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 156 | 138 | +18 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 145 | 110 | +35 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Racing Métro | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 19 | −6 | 160 | 190 | −30 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| London Irish | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 11 | −4 | 116 | 139 | −23 | 1 | 4 | 9 |

### Quarter-finals

* 7 April 2012 15:00 BST
| Edinburgh | 19–14 | Toulouse |
| Try: Blair 1' c Con: Laidlaw (1/1) Pen: Laidlaw (3/4) 46', 51', 80' Drop: Laidlaw (1/1) 38' | Report | Try: Matanavou 30' m Pen: Beauxis (3/5) 5', 19', 28' |
* Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 37,881 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

### Semi-finals

* 28 April 2012 17:45 IST
| Ulster | 22–19 | Edinburgh |
| Try: Wannenburg 15' c Con: Pienaar (1/1) Pen: Pienaar (5/5) 5', 38', 58', 63', 75' | Report | Try: Thompson 80' c Con: Laidlaw (1/1) Pen: Laidlaw (4/4) 9', 11', 40', 45' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 45,147 Referee: Romain Poite (France)