Ben Muncaster got a taste of Six Nations action in Paris on Saturday night but his focus is now firmly on helping Edinburgh reach the play-offs in the United Rugby Championship. The back-row forward believes the squad have it in them to win the competition, a bold claim given the capital club have failed to finish in the top eight since 2022. Muncaster insists Edinburgh are a different proposition from the side who collapsed alarmingly against Benetton in the final game of last season, a result which saw them end up 10th and out of the play-off positions. Edinburgh return to Treviso this weekend looking to continue where they left off last month when they went to Cork and beat Munster 34-28. It was a result which made the rest of the league sit up and take notice and Muncaster cites it as proof of the team’s greater robustness compared to last season. “I think we're a really different team now and we have a different mindset going into this and we're extremely hungry,” said the No 8. “We’ve learned from what happened last year, not making the top eight. We know what it requires to beat Benetton away because they're a serious outfit, especially at home.” Asked to elaborate on how Edinburgh had improved, Muncaster said: “I think the first thing is the momentum, coming off the back of a win against Munster away really gives us a lot of belief and we are fully capable of winning the whole competition. Secondly, I think mindset.” Edinburgh lie seventh in the standings with six rounds of the regular season remaining but the teams are bunched closely together in the 16-team URC, with only eight points separating fifth-placed Munster and 15th-placed Zebre. You need to finish in the top eight to make the playoffs and, after Benetton, Edinburgh will face Dragons (h), Sharks (h), Zebre (a), Connacht (a) and Ulster (h). Muncaster has been one of Edinburgh’s standout performers this season, putting together a run of games after a couple of years when injuries disrupted his progress. His form saw him called into Scotland’s Six Nations squad and he came off the bench against France in the final game and almost forced his way over for a try. It wasn’t to be and the hosts went on to win 35-16 to clinch the title. It was Muncaster’s second cap and his first in the Six Nations and he was left with “mixed feelings”. “My parents got to go out [to Paris], so that was extremely special but I was very ticked off that I got held up over the line. It just goes to show – I learned the hard way - you only get a certain amount of chances when you're in a Test match, especially against France, and that one opportunity I got, I didn't manage to convert. “I only managed to experience about 15 minutes of it, but the size of [the French players] and the intensity was extremely noticeable. When I was going out for the anthems, I had Marshall Sykes in front of me. I think he’s quite a big guy and then he stood next to Emmanuel Meafou and he was making Marshall look small.” Muncaster called the whole experience “addictive” and it whetted his appetite for further opportunities with Scotland. “Now that I’ve had a taste of the Six Nations, I just want to get more,” he said.