EDINBURGH RUGBY 19-14 CONNACHT
Edinburgh Rugby recorded their first RaboDirectPRO12 win of the season with a hard-fought win over Connacht at Murrayfield, maintaining an unbeaten home record against the Irish side that goes back to 2005.
It was largely a tale of the boot, with 14 points from captain Greig Laidlaw, and a solitary try from replacement stand-off Gregor Hunter, giving the home side a vital four points; while Connacht stand-off Matthew Jarvis landed three penalties for the visitors.
Head coach Michael Bradley said:” Ultimately the priority was to get a win, and we did that. We also maintained our unbeaten run against Connacht. We got a break for our try, but it was a game that either side could’ve won”
The first half was a tense affair, with a number of unforced errors creeping into both sides’ play. It was Laidlaw, though, who gave the home side the lead with two penalties in quick succession, just before the interval, to give Michael Bradley’s men a 6-0 half-time advantage.
The opening quarter of the second period was dominated by a kicking dual between the two stand-offs, as Laidlaw and Jarvis traded penalties.
During this spell neither side seemed to adapt to the deteriorating weather conditions, resulting in a number of handling errors from both sets of players.
The decisive moment of the match came with just over 10 minutes to play, as the impressive David Denton charged down a kick on half-way, which allowed Gregor Hunter to kick ahead and collect his pass for the score.
Laidlaw added the extras to give Edinburgh a 10-point cushion with as many minutes left to play.
However, the visitors swiftly responded in kind, as replacement Niall O’Connor snuck over in the corner after several phases of play by the Connacht pack, to set up a nervy final few minutes (19-14).
However, the home side dug their heels in and held on to record their first RaboDirectPRO12 win of the season, and give head coach Michael Bradley a win against his former side.
Edinburgh: Tom Brown, Lee Jones, Jim Thompson, James King, Tim Visser, Greig Laidlaw (c), Chris Leck; Kyle Traynor, Steven Lawrie, Shaun Knight, Grant Gilchrist, Sean Cox, Roddy Grant, David Denton
Replacements: Andrew Kelly on for Lawrie, Robin Hislop on Traynor, Lewis Niven, Esteban Lozada, Stuart McInally on for Gilchrist, Alex Black, Gregor Hunter on for Leck, Matt Scott on for King
Connacht: Gavin Duffy, Mark McCrea, Eoin Griffin, Henry Fa’fili, Tiernan O’Halloran, Matthew Jarivs, Frank Murphy; Ronan Loughney, Ethienne Reynecke, Rodney Ah You, Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy, John Muldoon, Johnny O’Connor, George Naoupu
Replacements: Adrian Flavin on for Reynecke, Brett Wilkinson on for Loughney, Dylan Rogers on for Ah You, Ray Ofisa on for Naoupu, Dave Gannon, Paul O’Donohoe on for Murphy, Niall O’Connor on for Jarvis, Brian Tuohy on for McCrae
RaboDirectPRO12 man of the match: Greig Laidlaw
Referee: Alan Falzone
