Mike Blair wows new stadium atmosphere as Edinburgh fans make noise

There were only 5,330 fans inside the 7,800-seat pitch, but they made a lot of noise as Edinburgh edged the Welsh side by four tries to three to open the season with a win with a bonus point.

“It was a great atmosphere,” said Blair. “If it had been on the big pitch at BT Murrayfield Stadium it would have been lost and we wouldn’t have had that atmosphere.

“It was harder for Scarlets to try to get back into the game when you have our crowd in the background cheering on the punches, cheering on the turnovers or cheering on our good play. It was great to have such a fantastic crowd and this volume.

Local players thrived on the atmosphere, with flankers Jamie Ritchie and Conor Boyle urging fans to increase the noise level in the dying minutes as Edinburgh sought to maintain their narrow lead.

Blair admitted he went through the wringer but was thrilled to get a winning start.

“There are so many emotions,” he said. “There was some brilliant stuff in it and stuff that we can learn from next week. I loved the attitude and players like Jamie Richie and Conor Boyle trying to lift the crowd and get them in. It was very important as we ascended towards it.

“We won a bonus point against a top class Scarlets team, but there is a lot we can do better.

“The wind died in the second half, but there were gusts in the first half and the wind will definitely influence our games, so we have to be smart. We could have been smarter pushing the ball into the wide canals and popping them out a bit more, which we didn’t do particularly well, but we have it in the tank.

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