When it comes to squaring up to Bath, Magnus Bradbury is a bit of a past master. The Edinburgh No 8 has faced them five times over the past three years and come out on top on four occasions, scoring three tries in the process. It’s no guarantee of success when the teams meet on Saturday in the semi-finals of the EPCR Challenge Cup but he certainly won’t be overawed when Finn Russell and co roll into town. Bradbury is back on home soil, revelling in his return to Edinburgh after two seasons tearing it up in the Premiership with Bristol Bears. His time at Ashton Gate took him out of his comfort zone and he returned to Edinburgh ready to embrace a leadership role. He spoke last month about how his time in Bristol helped him mature but it also gave him a different perspective on Bath. The West Country neighbours enjoy one of the English top flight’s keener rivalries, with little love lost, and Bradbury was thrown into the deep end, making his debut against them in September 2022. He scored a try in the 31-29 home win to make a favourable first impression on the Bears faithful and spoil Johann van Graan’s first game in charge of Bath. Bradbury and Bristol followed it up with a win at the Rec in the return fixture and the Scotland international ended his first Bears campaign being voted the club’s Players’ Player of the Season. Ten tries in his second season - including two more against Bath - weren’t quite enough to push Bristol into the play-offs but their fifth-place finish secured Champions Cup rugby and Bradbury thoroughly enjoyed his time down south. “My first game was the derby and I remember it got shifted because of the Queen's funeral and we had to play on a Sunday,” he said. “It was a lovely sunny day and we had around 20,000 at Ashton Gate so it was packed to the rafters. And we beat them so it was a great start to the season. “There was a really strong core group of local Bristol lads and they're very quick to get the new guys up to speed. They've got Ellis Genge and Joe Joyce and was there at the time, and they don't hate Bath, but they know how big the rivalry is, how important it is.” Edinburgh also got the better of Bath the last time the sides met, in 2022. It was a Challenge Cup last-16 tie during Bradbury’s first spell in the capital, with the home side winning convincingly 41-19 thanks to two tries from Emiliano Boffelli and one apiece from Blair Kinghorn, Pierre Schoeman, Mark Bennett and Connor Boyle. The Bath of three years ago were very different to today’s model. There was no Russell or van Graan in 2022 and they ended up bottom of the Premiership. This season, they are set to finish first and are targeting an unprecedented treble. The Premier Rugby Cup is already in the trophy cabinet and the Premiership and Challenge Cup are very much in their sights. Like most rugby observers, Bradbury has been impressed but he sees opportunities for Edinburgh. “They've been absolutely flying,” he said. “We've done our job, we've previewed them and I've played them enough times to know the threat they pose. They were finalists last year in the Prem. They fell short but, to be honest, they're probably going to be in the final again this year. And they're clicking. “I don't know what's changed in the past three seasons, apart from Finn obviously adding a layer of experience and quality, but whatever they're doing is clicking. But we know, without going into the details of it, how to upset that rhythm. We know every team has weaknesses, and we'll look to exploit that. “And hopefully it works. It will work. We've got a very good game plan and the messaging is very clear.” The 19-times capped Bradbury has played with and against Russell enough to know just what a threat he can be but he is wary of dwelling too much on the stand-off to the exclusion of all else. “He's a tricky one, isn't he? He's obviously a very talented player, but sometimes you see teams go after him and target him, and I understand why they do that, but that's probably what he wants because it will leave space elsewhere. “If you've got three defenders coming for him, he knows there's going to be space somewhere else, and he's talented enough to get the ball there, whether that's passing, kicking, or getting there himself. “We'll stick to our game plan. We know that if we're on our mettle, we can control that. I'm trying not to go into too much detail there and give it away!” It’s 10 years since Edinburgh last played in a European semi-final but Bradbury wants such occasions to be the norm for a team which is stuffed full of Scotland internationals and yet has too often fallen short. “We know what Edinburgh used to be years and years ago - it definitely wasn't the team that it is now. Where we want to get to is the final and winning silverware. That's our goal as a club, and it should always be but we know how big this is for the club, especially the fact we chose to play in the Hive which is sold out. This is where we want to be every year and we're going to make sure it isn't just a fluke. That's going to be our motivation going forward.”