INJURY-HIT EMBRA IN BONUS POINT DOUBLE OVER CASTRES
Edinburgh: 32 (10) Castres: 14 (14)
Tonight's match began in the wake of a bitterly disappointing decision that stunned the home crowd. Murrayfield's microphone maestro, Ian Turner, inexplicably declined to read out ERC's standard form announcements in French, much to the chagrin of the many fans of his oevre. Instead, some French ringer was brought in to do the needful.
Having said that, Edinburgh's traditional psychological weapon on occasions like these - the comedy mispronunciation of the visitors' names - would have proved ineffective tonight, given that most key figures in the visiting side were about as French as M. Turner himself. Their entire back row, for example, was composed of South Sea islanders, including the imposing Tekori. The strong running No 8 looked like just the sort of ball carrier that Andy Robinson is on the look-out for.
Castres had their moments. They scored two tries that may have been a little soft, but they deserved them, with the impressive Teulet pulling the strings at 10 and outside centre Sika a creative force. Yet Edinburgh missed a hatful of chances, especially in the first period and, once they sharpened up a bit, ran out comfortable and deserved bonus point winners.
Embra struggled in the set-piece, but they offloaded well in the tackle and even when the ball went to ground, they secured quick ball much of the time. As a result, Ben Cairns was given a bit of space to play with and he delivered. He found gaps in the defence at will all night, running fantastic lines and creating plenty. When the game was won, even the Castres players had to stand and admire the sleight of hand of this increasingly impressive threequarter.
After Godman had opened his account with a penalty at the second attempt, Castres scored a well-worked try in the corner. Terrain's touchdown was converted by Teulet on nine minutes.
Andy "Turny" Turnbull makes things happen. One could understand why Andy Robinson last week urged his side to get the ball to him more often. They certainly took that advice this week, the tiny winger obliging even when in receipt of some fairly terminal hospital passes. A Jacobsen flip in his 22 saw the speedster race down the wing, only nailed in the enemy 22. The run set up a purple patch for the Gunners, and it was no surprise when Cairns notched their first try on 18 minutes, Godman converting.
The next twenty minutes saw Edinburgh turn up the heat, creating countless chances. But they weren't nailing them. When a couple of missed tackles saw Tekori through for a well-taken solo score on 38 minutes, was it same old same old?
Just before the break, a great Hugo run was halted on the Castres line. Terrain was carded for a ruck offence, but the Edinburgh scrummage could not make their extra man tell and the visitors held out.
Webster nearly took advantage of the power play after the restart, just coming second in a race to the line. But after Castres had played for time at the drop out 22, Ali "Hoggy" Hogg, who took the ball up strongly all night, made good ground returning the kick. The ball was shipped left to Hugo, running a good angle. The full back found Godman in space, the playmaker sprinting over for a fine try, giving Edinburgh the lead, 15-14.
Coach Robinson rang the changes shortly afterwards, Mike Blair and Chris Paterson coming in at 9 and 10, with Traynor and Kerr trading places. The end product was the same, though, with Edinburgh's adventure creating more chances. In about his only error of the night, Cairns rounded off a great run by failing to see the supporting Cross on his shoulder; an offload would have seen The Colonel over for a try.
But after Mossy had scored a penalty, try number three was delivered on the hour. Stolen ball at a Castres lineout was moved quickly left where eventually Ford took it on from outside the 22. The galloping hooker just eluded the cover to notch a good supporting try, goaled well by Paterson.
Then it was showtime. Cairns, Turnbull and Webster had plenty of fun tormenting the French defence. After a particularly spectacular example, Edinburgh rounded off the evening with a bonus point try on the stroke of no-side. Paterson, taking the ball at 10 in traffic, ghosted through the cover to put replacement hooker Andy "Ned" Kelly over for a try, converted by the replacement playmaker.
Edinburgh now sit four points ahead of Castres in the group and three behind Wasps. Next week's trip to Dublin rounds off this year's Heineken adventure.
THE SIR CHRIS HOY-RELATED FASCINATING FACT OF THE WEEK: Sir Chris was inspired to cycle at age six by the 1982 film "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial".
MAN OF THE MATCH: Buccaneering with ball in hand, utterly hopeless when it came anywhere near his boot, The Man With The Tan, HUGO.
SCORERS:
Edinburgh: Godman 1T 1P, 1C, Paterson 2C, Ford 1T, Kelly 1T, Cairns 1T
Castres: Teulet 2C, Terrain 1T, Tekori 1T
TEAMS:
Edinburgh: Hugo, A. Turnbull, Cairns, De Luca, Webster, Godman, Laidlaw, Jacobsen, Ford, Kerr, C. Hamilton, Gissing, Newlands, S. Cross, Hogg.
Castres: Bouquie, Milford, Sika, Sanchou, Bourret, Teulet, Senio, Lensing, Terrain, Staibano, Capo, Gaston, Tomiki, Malonga, Tekori.
Referee: J Jones (WRU)