Edinburgh picked up a vital win tonight in their nail biting finish against Ospreys but walked away with no bonus point.
Ospreys 17
Edinburgh 19
It was a frustrating start for the home side attacking wise with multiple visits to the oppositions twenty-two, but to no avail each time. On the other side of the ball, however, apart from a blip Everitt’s men rarely took a backwards step.
First blood went to Ospreys as winger Kasende sped down the five metre channel to give an offload to his teammate. He was excellently brought down just short of the line by hooker Morris. Unfortunately, his efforts were negated by the Ospreys’ scrum half who was able to pick up the offload to score.
Youngster Tom Currie got his side over the line in the 32nd minute. After some back and forth in Osprey’s 22 the ball was swung wide to the wing but stopped. Currie then took upon himself to power over the line carrying two defenders with him.
A big positive from a rather dull first half was the performance from Edinburgh’s youth with all three starting players showing their worth. A highlight being Findlay Thomson, who put on a masterclass in physicality both sides of the ball.
Both sides attack never reached their full potential in the first half which proved for a very uneventful fourty minutes.
Liam McConnell was forced off with a HIA (head injury assessment) but returned to the pitch for the second half.
HT: EDINBURGH 5 – 5 OSPREYS
The Swansea based side took only five minutes to strike. A mix of good handling and poor defending gave them thirty plus metres. With a lackadaisical defence from the gunners Ospreys gained a relatively easy score.
Edinburgh’s second try could be described as an easy in. Multiple penalties from the visitors granted the opportunity for a rumbling maul with an eager Harri Morris behind it. The forward pack did not pass the chance up as Morris flopped over the line. Thompson then kicked it over for the first successful conversion of the game.
It was once again penalties letting the Welsh side down as Scott pinned them into the top right corner. Instead of a maul we were treated to a lovely grubber kick by Findlay Thomson for Harry Paterson to score his first try for Edinburgh right under the posts.
Both sides appeared to be mirroring each other as the encounter came down to the wire when Edinburgh gave Ospreys another easy entrance to their half. Some quick ball and strong carries eventually led to Boshoff running a hard line to bundle over.
Ollie Blyth-Lafferty was brought on in as an almost cameo appearance as he played a minute and a half. Everitt has said, however, he will be looking to get Ollie involved as often as possible. With that in mind there is the possibility of Blyth-Lafferty facing a formidable Toulon side next Sunday.
This was a good test for a mixed Edinburgh side that were on the brink of being on the wrong side of this result. There was definitely a lack of cohesion amongst the team with players only returning from international rugby on Tuesday.
FT: EDINBURGH 19 – 17 OSPREYS
MOTM: FINDLAY THOMSON
YELLOW CARDS –
EDINBURGH:
OSPREYS:
TRY SCORERS –
EDINBURGH: H.MORRIS, T.CURRIE, H.PATERSON
OSPREYS: L.DAVIES, P.COKANASIGA, E.BOSHOFF
ATTENDANCE: 6,502
REFEREE: PETER MARTIN
Teams:
Edinburgh – P.SCHOEMAN, H.MORRIS, P.HILL, C.HUNTER-HILL, G.GILCHRIST (C), L.MCCONNELL, B.MUNCASTER , T.CURRIE, B.VELLACOTT, R.THOMPSON, D.VAN DER MERWE, F.THOMSON, P.O’CONOR, L.WELLS, W.GOOSEN
Replacements – D.RICHARDSON, B.VENTER, O.BLYTH-LAFFERTY, M.SYKES, M.BRADBURY, C.McALPINE, C.SCOTT, H.PATERSON
Ospreys – C.JONES, S.PARRY (CC), T.BOTHA, R.SMITH, H.SUTTON, L.LLOYD, G.EVANS, R.MORIARTY, L.DAVIES, J.WALSH (CC), I.HOPKINS, P.COKANASIGA, E.BOSHOFF, D.KASENDE, M.NAGY
Replacements – E.DANIEL, S.THOMAS, K.HIRE, L.JONES, W.GREATBANKS, S.WHITLOCK, L.MORGAN, H.HOUSTON
Scoring timeline (Edinburgh first): 0-5, 5-5, HT, 5-10, 12-10, 19-10, 19-17, FT
