Edinburgh v Zebre
Edinburgh got their Guinness PRO14 campaign off to a solid start on Saturday, as they came away as the victors in a stunning opening match of the season at BT Murrayfield against Italian side Zebre.
With one loss and one win in their Principal & Prosper pre-season matches, it could have gone either way for the capital side. Zebre aren’t a troop to be sniffed at – having put Edinburgh to the sword in their last meeting in the 2018/19 season, running away with a 34-16 victory.
It seemed the bitter taste of this defeat still hadn’t left Edinburgh’s mouth though, as the home side got the game underway in spectacular fashion, launching a scathing attack just five minutes in, forcing a pile up on the try-line, in which Fraser McKenzie managed to find space to crawl through.

The second row slammed the ball down for Edinburgh’s first try of the game, as Jaco van der Walt added the extra points from out wide. [7-0]
Zebre fired back five minutes later though, as the Italian side’s stand-off, Francois Brummer, stepped forward to take a penalty, almost straight in front of the posts. Sure enough, the South African slotted the kick, making the score 7-3.
A sly pass from a ruck right in front of the posts was an ingenious move from Nic Groom though, as Mark Bennett burst through the Zebre defence, easily trotting over the whitewash as the visiting side could only look on in bewilderment. [14-3]
Again though, Zebre fought back, as just two minutes later, an assault on Edinburgh’s half left the ball dribbling precariously over the try-line. It was then a race to the dead ball line, which Giovanni Licata won, throwing himself onto the loose ball at the last second, for a much-debated score for the visitors. [14-8]
In a tug-of-war fashion, another two minutes passed before Edinburgh then added more glitz to the game in the form of Duhan van der Merwe, who decided to make a bee-line for the opponent’s half. Falling short at the 22’, the winger shared the glory with debutant and captain Nic Groom, who flew over the line, diving down for Edinburgh’s third try of the match. [21-8]
Edinburgh were in control at this point, as great play from the back-line found them in a very dangerous position in the 33rdminute, with Mark Bennett selling a dummy before being pounced upon just feet from the try-line. Matt Scott was in support for the offload though, cruising past the last defender to spot down for the bonus point try, with Jaco van der Walt continuing his good form in kicking duties. [28-8]

Edinburgh weren’t finished their first-half points haul though, as Jaco van der Walt once again lent his boot for a penalty by the posts, making the half-time score 31-8.
A slightly more tentative start to the second-half was soon broken by brilliance from Mark Bennett, who thundered through the outstretched arms of the Zebre defence, keeping his footing for long enough to crash down on the line for his second score of the night. [38-8]
The play was stop-start from here on out, with both sides swiftly snuffing out any form of the opposition’s attack. A flurry of substitutions saw Murray McCallum grace the field for his 50thappearance in Edinburgh colours, whilst Jamie Bhatti. Mike Willemse and Mesu Kunavula all laced up their boots for their competitive debut.
The break in scores was shattered in the 68thminute by Zebre, when Federico Mori managed to crash past the Edinburgh line. Despite the resulting defensive efforts, Mori couldn’t be caught and covered half the pitch in record time to touch down in the corner for the visitor’s second of the match. [38-15]
Edinburgh were a class above on this occasion though, and replied with a try worked entirely through the class of Charlie Shiel, who made the initial break, blistering past his marker, with all the space in the world. Bennett was once again on hand, with Shiel popping the ball up to the centre, who crossed the whitewash with a smile, for his hat-trick. [45-15]
That still wasn’t enough though, as the hunger for tries left Simon Hickey deep in the opposition half. Spotting Jamie Farndale out wide, the replacement stand-off launched a beautiful cross-field kick over to the winger, who plucked it from the air to gracefully land over the try-line for Edinburgh’s final try of the match. Simon Hickey added the last conversion, for a clean sheet of successful kicks, leaving the final score at 52-15.
It was a thrilling first match for the capital side, with no shortage of tries. Fantastic build-up play and world-class judgement throughout meant Edinburgh never took their foot off the pedal. Pulling the strings in centre for a lot of these scores was Mark Bennett, who was the well-deserved Prinicipal & Prosper Man of the Match.
Edinburgh are in action again next week, when they face Cardiff Blues on Saturday 5thOctober at 5:15pm, at Cardiff Arms Park.

live commentary 7:35 PM Saturday 28 Sep 2019
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Edinburgh
-
George Taylor
23. Replacement11metres made
29MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Simon Hickey
22. Replacement10metres made
22MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
-
Charlie Shiel
21. Replacement24metres made
22MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
21COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ally Miller
20. Replacement0metres made
24MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Mesulame Kunavula
19. Replacement8metres made
15MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Murray McCallum
18. Replacement0metres made
15MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jamie Bhatti
17. Replacement0metres made
21MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Michael Willemse
16. Replacement4metres made
13MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Nick Haining
8. Number 851metres made
56MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Luke Crosbie
7. Back-row13metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Lewis Carmichael
6. Back-row2metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
16TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
-
Murray Douglas
5. Second-row0metres made
65MINUTES PLAYED
15TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Fraser McKenzie
4. Second-row10metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Pietro Ceccarelli
3. Tighthead prop3metres made
65MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
David Cherry
2. Hooker2metres made
67MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Pierre Schoeman
1. Loosehead prop14metres made
59MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
-
Nic Groom
9. Scrum-half15metres made
58MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
45COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jaco van der Walt
10. Stand-off3metres made
58MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
11COMPLETE PASSES
-
Duhan van der Merwe
11. Wing70metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Matt Scott
12. Inside-centre70metres made
51MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
7COMPLETE PASSES
-
Mark Bennett
13. Outside-centre89metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jamie Farndale
14. Wing24metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Damien Hoyland
15. Full-back69metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
Zebre
-
Charlie Walker
15. Full-back37metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jamie Elliott
14. Wing30metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ludovico Vaccari
13. Outside-centre26metres made
46MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Enrico Lucchin
12. Inside-centre21metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
10COMPLETE PASSES
-
Paula Balekana
11. Wing14metres made
57MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Francois Brummer
10. Stand-off10metres made
72MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
24COMPLETE PASSES
-
Josh Renton
9. Scrum-half5metres made
70MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
57COMPLETE PASSES
-
Danilo Fischetti
1. Loosehead prop2metres made
59MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Marco Manfredi
2. Hooker2metres made
66MINUTES PLAYED
12TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Alexandru Tarus
3. Tighthead prop0metres made
49MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Mick Kearney
4. Second-row13metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Ian Nagle
5. Second-row7metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
19TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Johan Meyer
6. Back-row2metres made
61MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Jacopo Bianchi
7. Back-row4metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
-
Giovanni Licata
8. Number 845metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
-
Massimo Ceciliani
16. Replacement0metres made
14MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Daniele Rimpelli
17. Replacement0metres made
21MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
Giosue Zilocchi
18. Replacement7metres made
31MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
-
George Biagi
19. Replacement0metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Apisai Tauyavuca
20. Replacement1metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
-
Nicolo Casilio
21. Replacement0metres made
17MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
21COMPLETE PASSES
-
Pierre Bruno
22. Replacement15metres made
23MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
-
Federico Mori
23. Replacement44metres made
33MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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