The biggest hurdle standing between the Scottish clubs and league success is that they cannot win away from home, but Andy Robinson, the Edinburgh coach, believes that the time is coming when his team will be able to lay that bogey to rest. Tomorrow’s match at Cardiff Blues, who failed to take advantage of the holiday games to climb back to the top of the Magners League, would be a good time to start.

The competition is so tightly bunched that Edinburgh, in fifth place, could overtake Cardiff, currently second, if they win and collect a try bonus point, a scenario that would put them level on points with Leinster, the leaders, who do not play until Saturday, but behind on the number of games won because their total includes two draws.

Not surprisingly, Robinson has stuck with the side that earned a dramatic win against Glasgow last week, scoring the winning try a minute from time after going behind four minutes earlier. “I thought they all deserved to get another chance,” he said yesterday. “What we are looking for is consistency and that starts with consistency in selection. I was pleased with the way they started the game, and at 21-6 we were in control after scoring a couple of very good tries, but they let Glasgow back into the game and that is a worry.”

However, the way that they conjured up the winning score — Nick De Luca, the centre, offloading to Ben Cairns, who had moved up from full-back to centre, on an angled run into space — has raised the confidence of the team in their ability to manufacture scores when they need to, an ability that could prove crucial at Cardiff Arms Park.

Though the fixture list has given Edinburgh a significant advantage — they have had a week to recover while Cardiff played the Ospreys in Swansea on Monday — Robinson is quick to dismiss any idea that his team, who had not won away for 14 months before their victory at Ulster in their last match on the road, are in any way favourites. “They have the squad to cope,” he said. “If it were a team like Newport Gwent Dragons, with their more limited resources, it would be different, but Cardiff have a big squad and strength in depth.”

For all that, David Young, the Cardiff coach, has still warned his side that this is a radically different Edinburgh side from the one that lost 48-0 in the equivalent fixture last season.

“They have enough quality to go away from the Arms Park with a win,” he said. “We have to make sure that they don’t and will have to see a huge improvement in our recent performances if we are to get the win. I have got a lot of time for Andy Robinson. He’s coached me on the Lions and is an extremely motivated and organised person as I’m sure his team will be.”

Edinburgh: B Cairns; A Turnbull, N De Luca, J Houston, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Kerr, M Mustchin, B Gissing, A Hogg (capt), R Rennie, D Callam. Replacements: A Kelly, A Allori, C Hamilton, R Reid, B Meyer, D Blair, H Southwell.

Cardiff Blues (from): Backs: B Blair, G Thomas, J Roberts, J Robinson, T Shanklin, D Hewitt, R Jones, N Macleod, D Allinson, R Rees, J Spice. Forwards: T R Thomas, G Williams, J Yapp, G Jenkins, T Filise, G Powell, D Jones, P Tito, S Morgan, M Molitika, R Sowden Taylor, M Williams, A Powell, M Lewis, X Rush (capt).

Referee: G Clancy (Ireland).