THE ONE THAT (NEARLY) GOT AWAY
Edinburgh: 35 (21) Glasgow: 31 (9)
It seems a bit churlish to split hairs after a game like this.
Playing in front of their highest ever crowd of 6,225 at Murrayfield tonight, Edinburgh racked up a bonus point win over Glasgow that takes them to fifth in the Magnersleague, only 4 points off second place. The atmosphere was superb, due in no small measure to the excellent Glasgow travelling support. And Edinburgh came back brilliantly from what could have been a killer blow, when Dan Parks scored the try that gave the visitors the lead with only four minutes left on the clock. It was a pulsating match, with flashes of real quality and tension aplenty. More of this sort of thing and professional rugby in Scotland will be attracting the hefty gates that are now commonplace in Ireland and Wales.
But these last ditch Embra heroics, wonderful though they were to behold, should not have been necessary. A good Glasgow start to the match aside, Edinburgh were so in control throughout the first half that the result should have been beyond doubt at the break. Instead, loose home play, combined with a rejuvenated Glasgow team after the interval, saw the visitors manoeuvre themselves into a position where, three points ahead with the clock running down, they really should have closed out the win. Even when Edinburgh scored, they invariably made a hash of gathering the restart. The worst example was surely Kelly Brown's try on the hour, which was the direct result of a loss of Embra focus after Webster had just scored a fine try for the home side.
But the suggestion that Edinburgh should have won this game with something to spare is also founded on plenty of good things in tonight's performance, from a dominant scrummage to combinations in the back division that are gelling nicely - the Blair-Godman hinge and the centre pairing of Houston and de Luca in particular.
Indeed, Santa clearly brought Phil Godman a new pair of kicking trousers this Christmas. While the quality of his goal kicking has never been in doubt, tonight saw a near flawless display of tactical kicking from the wee maestro. He found consistently good touches and made visiting full back Stortoni's life uncomfortable with a succession of incisive dinks behind the rush defence. The Argentine did little right all night and one could see Simon Webster salivating at the prospect of having a run at him.
Glasgow had started the game well, good pressure from the opening kick off delivering an attacking scrummage 10 metres from the Edinburgh line. But Edinburgh cleared well and it was the home side that took the lead on three minutes; Godman knocking over a penalty for Glasgow killing ruck ball. Parks levelled the score with a simple penalty five minutes later.
As the rain poured down, Edinburgh used their pack well, a rumbling maul forcing another Glasgow penalty. Godman converted a difficult chance from the touchline to retake the lead on 12 minutes. The power of the Edinburgh scrummage was causing Glasgow all sorts of problems and they conceded another penalty for deliberately collapsing as the quarter came to an end. The trusty Godman boot made the score 9-3 Edinburgh.
Better was to come two minutes later. Glasgow persisted in playing a wide game in the rain. As a result, Mike Blair snaffled loose ball from a handling error on half way and scooted goalwards. He was superbly tackled just a metre short. But his pop pass found the supporting Dave "DC" Callam, who rumbled over for the try in the corner, confirmed after much deliberation by the TMO. 14-3 and with momentum, this should have been the cue for Edinburgh to kick on and make the game safe.
After Parks had pulled a penalty back, Blair did indeed stretch the lead still further. A fine Parks garryowen was held well by the scrum half, who beat the hapless Stortoni with ease. He nipped through a gap, fed Webster, then took the return and surged over for a great try, goaled by Godman for a 21-6 lead with little time on the clock. However, Parks kicked another penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave the score 21-9 Edinburgh. Glasgow were still in the hunt, despite not threatening a great deal in attack.
And Glasgow began the second half under the influence of what must have been one of the greatest half-time motivational chats of all time. They hit rucks with aggression, won some great quality ball at the breakdown and had narrowed the lead to five points after just a minute of play. They had come close on the right wing before shipping the ball infield where Moray Low was driven over for a try that did not really need the TMO's confirmation. 21-16 and game on with momentum definitely with the visitors.
With their back row rampant, Glasgow were looking dangerous with ball in hand. Errors began to creep into Edinburgh's play as the pressure increased.
Yet it was Edinburgh who struck next. Andy Turnbull came close on the left wing. The pack tried a number of pick and drives close in, defended well by the visitors. Then the ball was spun along the line. de Luca was caught in midfield, but managed to offload to Webster, who jinked over untouched for a great score. Godman's conversion brought the score to 28-16.
It was a fine touchdown, but Edinburgh's pack would have been better off paying attention to Glasgow at the restart rather than awarding marks for artistic impression. Kelly Brown took full advantage with his try on the hour, goaled by Parks. And the Glasgow playmaker firstly cut the lead to four points with a penalty with ten minutes to go. He went one better five minutes later, finishing off a spell of Glasgow pressure with a try in the corner, nailing the difficuit conversion for a 31-28 lead. The large travelling support went ballistic, as they were fully entitled to do. The home support felt a bit deflated by the whole thing.
Thankfully, Edinburgh dug deep and surged back into the attack. After a de Luca half-break, great running by Cairns in traffic saw him over for another fine try, converted by Godman. Edinburgh held off the furious Glasgow response and ended the game with the pack controlling the ball, Blair hoofing it into touch on the stroke of no-side.
SCORERS:
Edinburgh: Godman 3C 3P, Cairns 1T, Callam 1T, Webster 1T, Blair 1T
Glasgow: Parks 2C 4P 1T, Low 1T, Brown 1T
Edinburgh: Cairns, Turnbull, De Luca, Houston, Webster, Godman, M. Blair, Jacobsen, Ford, Kerr, Mustchin, Gissing, Hogg, Rennie, Callam. Replacements: Hugo, Kelly, Allori, Hamilton, Reid, Meyer, D. Blair.
Glasgow: Stortoni, T. Evans, Morrison, Gibson, O'Hare, Parks, O'Young, Va'a, Thomson, Low, Newman, Kellock, Brown, Barclay, Beattie. Replacements: Barrow, Gregor, Pinder, Kalman, Eddie, Turner, Milligan.
Ref: Small (RFU).