EDINBURGH 43
BENETTON 0
Edinburgh welcomed Treviso based side, Benetton, for their first home game of the season and round four of the URC in what turned out to be a total wipe out in favour of the capital side against their Italian opponents.
Sean Everitt made three changes to the squad from their last week’s clash against Munster. It was a complete change in the driving seat as Vellacott and Healy were swapped out for Shiel and Scott. Charlie Shiel had not started a URC game since Edinburgh’s win over Connacht in 2023, and for Cammy Scott this was the first league start of his career.
First blood went to Edinburgh in the form of Van der Merwe. A strong carry from a midfield scrum gave Edinburgh the platform for quick ball, simple passes got the ball wide to the winger who ran in for a very nearly unopposed try.
An invigorated Edinburgh side put foot to throat after fly half Scott kicked them to the corner giving a great opportunity to maul. While unsuccessful with their maul attempt, it only took a few carries before new signing, South African, Dylan Richardson pushed his way over.
Early into the game it was clear this was going to be a challenging night for a relatively inexperienced Benetton team. What promise they showed was flowing through former Wasps’ player and Benetton fly half, Jacob Umaga.
Momentum was up in the air after 30 minutes with both sides attack losing their structure. The two teams took the scraps they could in the form of small line breaks and loose balls, but to no avail.
The home side’s third try came just on the edge of half time started by an excellent break by Charlie Shiel. One phase later youngster Liam McConnel displayed some great footwork to offset a defender and offload to Graham, who was able to reach for the line.
It was a strong display by Edinburgh in the first half that became a bit lax as it went on, nonetheless they looked the stronger side. Their attack appeared a lot sturdier with the change in out-halves. A highlight in an already strong sided defence was Dylan Richardson’s physicality.
HT: EDINBURGH 21 – 0 BENETTON
Benetton center Malakai Fekitoa was shown a yellow card less than ten minutes into the second half for a no arms tackle leaving the visitors a man down against a hungry Edinburgh attack.
It was troubling scenes for Edinburgh as Duhan van Der Merwe was subbed off not long into the second half with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Cammy Scott was subbed off for fellow counterpart Ross Thompson just before the 10 minute mark in the second half. It was a big night for the young number 10 and he stepped up to the occasion. Effectively and quickly, he was able to give Goosen and Duhan the ball to allow for a wide and challenging attack the whole half. His performance solidified Everitt’s comment of “It’s not a big call” when asked about starting Shiel and Scott.
A second new player was in the spotlight, as Piers O’Connor dotted down to get his first try in the capital. A powerful and speed fuelled line break by Wes Goosen set O’Connor up for a two against one and an easy trot in.
Darcy Graham finished off the game in his usual fashion by scoring from nothing as he received the ball and ran half the length of the pitch to provide an entertaining finish for the home fans.
This was an unexpectedly fantastic result for Edinburgh after three tough losses on the bounce. It provided not only a result but selection headaches for head coach Sean Everitt as new out-half pairing triumphed.
FT: EDINBURGH 43-0 BENETTON
MOTM: MAGNUS BRADBURY
Yellow Cards:
Edinburgh –
Benetton – FEKITOA (45”), A.GARBISI (59”)
Tries:
Edinburgh: Duhan Van Der Merwe (6”), Dylan Richardson (10”), Darcy Graham (39”), Piers O’Connor (65″), M.BRADBURY (73″), D.GRAHAM (78″)
Benetton:
Scoring timeline (Edinburgh first): 7-0, 14-0, 21-0, 26-0, 33-0, 38-0, 43-0, FT
Attendance: 6,763
Edinburgh – P.SCHOEMAN (J.WHITCOMBE 67”), E.ASHMAN (P.HARRISON 61”). D.RAE (P.HILL 48”), S.SKINNER, G.GILCHRIST, L.MCCONNELL (G.YOUNG 70”), D.RICHARDSON (F.DOUGLAS 59”), M.BRADBURY (C), C.SHIEL (B.VELLACOTT 68”), C.SCOTT (R.THOMPSON 47”) D.VAN DER MERWE (R.McCANN 45”), P. O’CONOR J.LANG, D.GRAHAM, W.GOOSEN,
Replacements – P.HARRISON, J.WHITCOMBE, P.HILL, G.YOUNG, F.DOUGLAS, B.VELLACOTT, R. THOMPSON, R.MCCANN
Benetton – M.SPAGNOLO (T.GALLO 48”), S.MAILE, G.ZILOCCHI (T.PASQUALI 53”), G.MARINI, E.SNYMAN (CC) A.IZEKOR, J.BRYANT (M.ZULIANI 53”), S.FAASOO, L.WERCHON (A.GARBISI 48”), J.UMAGA, I.MENDY, M.FEKITOA, F.DRAGO, M.GALLAGHER, R.SMITH, F.DRAGO (L.MARI 55”)
Replacements – B. BERNASCONI, T.GALLO, T.PASQUALI, R.FAVRETTO, F. RUZZA (CC) M.ZULIANI, A.GARBISI, L.MARI
