WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER
Edinburgh: 14 (7) Tonga: 26 (19)
... was a favourite saying of Todd Blackadder's during his time in the capital. And, after an eventful off-season, it was something of a relief to find oneself watching a committed Edinburgh squad slug it out with the World Cup bound Tongans at windy Myreside this evening. Amid all the excitement of the last few months, the Edinburgh players have wisely kept their own counsel. But they have clearly been busy over the summer nevertheless and are shaping up nicely for the season ahead.
Among the new arrivals, Man of the Match Ben Meyer, Augusto Allori, and Andrew Maxwell looked to be very useful additions, as did Ben Gissing. Indeed, there was promise aplenty throughout the squad, and all those who played in the back three during the match, for example, shone. There is still room for a couple of quality performers up front, but the Edinburgh tradition of enterprising back play looks safe in these hands. Overall, the evidence of this match suggests that this year's squad may be slightly stronger season long than last term, despite the various recent departures.
On a beautiful evening, Edinburgh made a fine start. They had most of the early pressure, although Laidlaw missed a tough penalty from the Tonga 10 on five minutes that would have given the home side a deserved lead. The pack were sticking it to the visitors and Cairns and Maxwell were looking good in attack. But a great breakout saw centre Hufanga over for a good try for a 7 - 0 lead against the run of play after six minutes. The score came off a great offload after Andy Turnbull had put in a phenomenal tackle on the home 22 tracking back.
One of the great sadnesses of the end of last season for your correspondent was the release of Lucio "Big Hit" Lopez Fleming, The Pint Sized Pampas Predator. However, Turnbull now appears to pack even more of a punch than the microscopic Argentine - if such a thing were possible. A series of mighty tackles by the former Watsonian rendered more than a few Tongan attacks stillborn throughout the game, and he alertly touched down in goal as Tonga threatened immediately after the restart.
Edinburgh responded to the setback well. After solid defence allowed them to clear Tongan pressure close in, they regained the upper hand for the rest of the first quarter. Geoff Cross got through a power of work in the loose during his time on the park, and featured in the move that levelled the score on 18 minutes. Aftter a series of phases, quick ball and hands saw de Luca break a few tackles to smash over for the try, converted by Laidlaw.
But it was a slight misjudgement by the full back in running the ball out of defence when nothing was on that saw Tonga regain the lead on 25 minutes. Full back Lilo nipped over under the posts off a misdirected pass.
Ross Rennie nearly levelled again, when fine interplay between Cairns and Maxwell put him in space in the enemy 22. But a marginal forward pass denied the openside a score.
On the half hour, Tonga spun ruck ball from the right to the left wing for Vaka to notch their third try of the evening for a 19 - 7 half time lead. Edinburgh, marshalled superbly throughout by skipper Simon Cross, had competed well, and could count themselves unfortunate to be behind.
Wholesale changes at half time saw Edinburgh restarting with a Meyer-Warnock hinge. The slickess of Meyer's service, coupled with his willingness to take the ball up himself, seemed to give the Edinburgh attack a little more zip. And it was no surprise when they notched their second touchdown of the night on 55 minutes. Warnock knocked a penalty into touch five metres out. The pack mauled to the line, with referee Allan playing advantage for assorted Tongan infringements. As the maul collapsed, the scrum half picked and drove through the defence for a try in the corner, well converted by Warnock.
Meyer was to come close again in a similar situation with ten minutes remaining. But it was Tonga who had the last word, with a converted try on the stroke of no-side.
Overall, both sides will have been happy with their evening's work. Tonga had a good workout and always had just a little too much footballing ability. Meanwhile, although the home set piece struggled a little in the second half, there was much for interim head coach Henry Edwards to be pleased about n the performance of both his pack and the back division. On the evidence of the pre-match session with new CEO Nic Cartwright, the back room team have also made a good start to the club's latest incarnation.
EDINBURGH SQUAD:
De Luca; Turnbull, Cairns, Dey, Maxwell; Godman, laisdlaw; Allori, Lawrie, Geoff Cross, Kelly, Gissing, Newlands, Rennie, Simon Cross (c). Replacements: Sean Crombie, Craig Smith, Bruce McNeil, Kyle Traynor, Ali Warnock, John Houson, Alan MacDonald, Fergus Pringle, David Blair, Ben Mayer, James Thompson