Edinburgh’s bid for back-to-back wins in the Stade Pierre Antoine ended in disappointment on Saturday night as Castres squeezed home 21-16 in a lively Heineken Cup Pool 1 encounter.
Having not played with as much fluidity or cohesion as they would have liked, Rob Moffat’s side were in contention right until the last, and set up a frenetic finish when Simon Webster, who came off the bench to sample his first Edinburgh action since April, crossed to help cut Castres’ advantage to five points.
Unfortunately for the capital club, they couldn’t force another telling turnover or incisive sequence of play in the closing stages. At least they don’t have long to wait for a chance to exact revenge – Castres come to Murrayfield next Sunday 19 December (kick-off 2pm) for a clash that will set Edinburgh up for their two 1872 Cup derbies against Glasgow Warriors at Firhill on Monday 27 December (kick-off 5.35pm), and Murrayfield on Sunday 2 January 2011 (kick-off 5.35pm).
On a freezing night in the Midi Pyrenees, Edinburgh were forced into making two late chages on the bench. Alan MacDonald was unwell, so Craig Hamilton took his place among the replacements, while Lewis Niven stepped in for Kyle Traynor who was suffering from a stiff neck.
Edinburgh made a positive start, Steven Turnbull and Scott Newlands making ground with strong drives, but it was Castres who got the scoreboard moving first when full-back Romain Teulet knocked over a penalty from out on the left after Turnbull got in the way of the ball while retreating from an offside position.
Teulet proceeded to succeed with a simpler effort in the ninth minute, Ross Rennie having been penalised in mysterious circumstances at the breakdown.
Edinburgh had plenty of the game in the opening quarter, but struggled for quality first-phase ball until an off-the-top lineout move saw John Houston batter through on a commanding line that eventually resulted in a penalty. Chris Paterson knocked over the visitors’ first points of the night from a position just left of centre 23m out.
Frustration was writ large on the faces of the Edinburgh players when, just two minutes after this incursion on the scoreboard, the good work was undone with the concession of another penalty at ruck time. Teulet did the business to put Castres 9-3 up.
The game was a slightly curious mix from here until half-time. There were tantalising flashes of quick ball and momentum from Edinburgh, but there was also a significant amount of defending to do for Moffat’s men. This task they accomplished to impressive effect, but there can be little doubt they would rather have been hailed for achievements on the front foot.
The opportunity for this sort of praise arrived three minutes from the interval, when Edinburgh controlled possession through a serious amount of phases and dragged the Castres defence into ragged shape. Houston was once more at the heart of everything that was good in this spell, showing great leg drive to take the move to within a few feet of the French line.
A decent scramble from the hosts forced Edinburgh out wide, where they won a penalty as Castres went off their feet. Amid incessant jeering from the crowd, Paterson showed terrific nerve to send the ball between the sticks from way out right.
Further cheer for Edinburgh arrived minutes later, Greig Laidlaw stepping up to hammer over another three-pointer from just behind the half-way line as Castres were pinged for failing to roll away. That the sides went in level was a fair reflection of the first half’s ebb and flow, and was also reward for Edinburgh’s tenacity in the second quarter.
HALF-TIME: CASTRES 9-9 EDINBURGH
The positive vein in which Edinburgh closed the first half was continued in the early part of the second, the visitors spreading the ball at pace and creating a number of promising overlaps. They could have taken the lead for the first time in the game when Castres were again pulled up for not rolling away at the breakdown, but Paterson, for once, failed to deliver from the tee.
The set-piece battle, ferociously contested all evening, seemed if anything to increase in intensity in this period. Under intense pressure from the gargantuan home pack, the Edinburgh eight did well to stay in the game, even if there were then some anxious moments when Roddy Grant was penalised for pulling down a Castres jumper at the lineout. Mercifully for the Scots, replacement Pierre Bernard missed with his kick at goal.
With just under an hour on the clock, fans favourite Webster replaced David Blair. The switch saw Jim Thompson move to full-back and Paterson line-up at stand-off.
Shortly after this realignment, the visitors suffered the grievous double blow of losing Fraser McKenzie to the sin-bin (the offence again pulling down a jumper) and then two tries in quick succession. A series of punishing scrums on the Edinburgh 5-metre line always looked like ending in trouble, and the pressure finally told with Castres exploiting numbers right and winger Vincent Inigo squeezing himself in at the corner.
A fluid move, featuring a couple of nifty offloads, then had blindside Steve Malonga attacking this same scrap of space and touching the ball down for an ultimately decisive score. Bernard this time landed the conversion to put Castres 21-9 ahead.
Edinburgh needed to hit back with something, and Webster gave them renewed hope with seven minutes to play by burrowing over the line from close range after a huge break from Rennie had taken the men in the black and red to within a few feet of the line. Paterson’s conversion narrowed the deficit to five points, and sparked murmurs of concern among a previously relaxed Castres crowd.
Alas, the home supporters had reason to be in fine voice come the end. The travelling black and red foot-soldiers, who certainly made themselves heard, will be hoping they and their team have the same opportunity come next Sunday afternoon.
Castres Olympique: R Teulet; V Inigo, R Cabannes, P-M Garcia, J Tatupu; C McIntyre, A Albouy; C Hoeft, B Kayser, L Ducalon, S Murray, K Kulemin, S Malonga, C Masoe (capt), I Tekori
Replacements: M Bonello, M Coetzee, D Saayman, R Capo Ortega, I Diarra, T Sanchou, F Denos, P Bernard
Edinburgh: C Paterson; J Thompson, B Cairns, J Houston, L Jones; D Blair, G Laidlaw; A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, F McKenzie, S Turnbull, S Newlands, R Rennie, R Grant (capt)
Replacements: A Kelly, L Niven, D Young, E Lozada, C Hamilton, A Grove, J King, S Webster
Ref: JP Doyle (RFU)
Heineken Man of the Match: Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh)
