UNLEASH THE PUPS OF WAR!
Edinburgh: 19 (5) London Irish: 17 (14)
When a callow Embra side, including only the second row of the XV that started this match, emerged after the interval, one felt that the 5-14 deficit would swiftly widen. Ah well, there had been plenty of promising stuff from the first choice side and it would do the younger players good to get a feel for the intensity they will experience at this level. Performances, not results, are what matter at this stage of the season etc.
In fact, aginst a London Irish side that did not see widespread replacements until the last quarter, Edinburgh's lesser lights truly shone. Had they not had some fairly catastrophic communications issues in the lineout, they might well have done even better than besting the Exiles 14-3 in the half.
Three tries to the visitors' two overall was just about a fair reflection of the match as a whole, where Embra had defended solidly and been the more adventurous side, but Irish had the edge in the set piece and were more clinical when they had the chances. Plenty of positives for Edinburgh, not least the try-scoring return of Chris Paterson.
It was pretty much all Edinburgh for the first ten minutes after the opening kick off. Yet it was after Irish's first serious attack of the match that Embra struck. Blair M., who looked in great form throughout his time on the park, took a quick tap penalty and went through a yawning gap. He released Mossy, who showed good pace and movement to surge over for a fine try. The Magnersleague's most accurate kicker of last season just failed with the conversion, leaving the score 5-0 Embra. There was plenty of home ambition, albeit not quite the accuracy required to take advantage. A similar break on 18 minutes broke down when his pass was maybe a mite too early for the supporting Grove, who knocked on with open prairie stretching before him. If Mikey can keep this form up during the season, the battle between him and Greig Laidlaw is going to be a must-see.
And the Gunners were confident enough to run the ball out of defence on the rare occasions when Irish had them under pressure in the first quarter. Part of the reason for doing so, though, was the abysmal performance of their scrummage, where Jack Gilding was under tremendous pressure at tighthead.
Although the Gunners were by far the more positive side, Irish scored a simple try near the half hour after another home attack broke down. After Danaher had butchered a simple three on one, Ojo crossed, Lamb converting.
And Yard doubled the advantage just before the break, scooting round a maul from short range, Lamb again converting.
Although disappointing, the half had seen a number of excellent home performances, notably the Cairns-Grove and Hamilton-McKenzie combinations, Blair M. and, at times, the mercurial Talei at No 8. Finishing apart, Embra had actually looked like the side with three pre-season matches under their belts, albeit they sometimes struggled to cope with the Exiles' physicality.
Irish began the second period like an express train. Where in the first period they had been ponderous, keeping the ball tight, they opened at great pace, putting plenty of width on the ball. Yet though Edinburgh seemed somewhat surprised, they coped well and came back at the visitors after the initial shock. Their counter-rucking seemed more dynamic and the driving maul was proving an effective weapon.
After Lamb had kicked a penalty on 54 minutes - shame! - Edinburgh enjoyed good pressure. But two botched attacking lineouts in the enemy 22 seemed to have put paid to their chances. Not so. A lovely bit of football from Blair D. saw the stand off chip the rush defence beautifully and gather. Although tackled, Edinburgh recycled quickly and Lee Jones took a smart touchdown, goaled by Blair D. 12-17 with a quarter to go.
As the Exiles rang the changes, the Embra scrummage began to assert itself and the home side were looking the more likely. The Irish attacks along both wings were looking increasingly predictable, the Embra scramble defence coping comfortably. With three minutes left, the Gunners had a series of phases in the enemy 22. They kept their patience well, alternating forward drives close in with probing attacks wider out. Eventually, the impressive Lee Jones (this kid is going to be something special) went over in the corner. Blair D.'s magnificent conversion from the touchline gave Edinburgh a morale-boosting 19-17 victory.
Coach Moffat will be extremely happy with this showing, particularly in the second period. The squad looks to be shaping up well and there did not appear to be any serious injuries, a slight knock to Fraser McKenzie in the second period aside. A week spent sharpening up the handling skills will see the capital side in pretty good fettle for their visit to Cardiff City stadium, a venue that they hanseled with a fine away win last season.
EDINBURGH FIRST HALF XV: Chris Paterson; Mark Robertson, Ben Cairns, Alex Grove, Tim Visser; Phil Godman, Mike Blair; Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford, Jack Gilding, Fraser McKenzie, Craig Hamilton, Alan MacDonald, Roddy Grant (capt), Netani Talei
EDINBURGH SECOND HALF XV: Tom Brown; Andrew Turnbull, Alex Blair, John Houston, Lee Jones; David Blair, Greig Laidlaw; Kyle Traynor, Finlay Gillies, Geoff Cross, Fraser McKenzie, Craig Hamilton, Scott Newlands, Ross Rennie, Stuart McInally