Edinburgh returned to Hive Stadium on Saturday night to face Cardiff in their final home game before the international window. Sean Everitt’s side were looking to add to a huge win from last week against the Stormers after a disappointing three-game losing streak to start the season. Cardiff also had a mixed opening to their campaign, with two wins and two losses.
Edinburgh started on the attack, aggressively charging towards the goalline, looking for an opportunity to break through the Welsh side’s defence. Cardiff defended well and prevented the try, but after a few minutes, gave away a penalty, allowing Edinburgh to take the lead through the posts from on-form Ross Thompson.
The play mostly remained down at the Cardiff end for the next 15 minutes, but Matt Sheratt’s side defended aggressively, not allowing Edinburgh to break through. Out of nowhere, the Welsh side built an attack, quickly moving the ball up the field with a quick succession of passes, Thomas Young finding the points out in the left corner to take the lead. A missed conversion left the score at 3-5
Another blow came to Edinburgh as the game started back up from the try: Grant Gilchrist received a yellow card amid a rough passage of play, taking the home side down to fourteen men. Cardiff looked to have used the man advantage to further their lead, but Thomas Young had failed to get the ball down properly, spotted by TMO. The flanker was then sent to the sin-bin himself after a roughly executed tackle was enough for a yellow.
Both sides had plenty of opportunities to gain points in the first 40, but just one try and a slender Cardiff lead going into the break (although not before a mass brawl broke out as the players headed into the tunnel.)
Edinburgh had a chance to score in the 43rd minute, with a lineout near the five on the right-hand side, passing the ball around, waiting for a moment to strike. Finally, it came from Duhan van der Merwe out on the left wing. Thompson secured the extra two, to make it 5-10.
Ten minutes later, Calum Sheedy kicked for three, to close the gap on Edinburgh the lead down to just two points: 10-8. Edinburgh then scored again, by sub and Scotland international Pierre Schoemann, the prop charging the ball over the line in a team effort. The conversion was missed in a rare kicking error from Ross Thompson.
Another opportunity just five minutes later allowed another Edinburgh try, this time Darcy Graham took the points, catching the pass from Ali Price. Thompson’s kick hit the post, for his second miss of the evening. Edinburgh were one try away from securing a bonus point.
A third yellow card of the night went to Josh Macnaly, as Cardiff were forced to play the last seven minutes of the game without their 15th man. Minutes before the whistle, Edinburgh obtained a lineout close to the try-line: a last opportunity to get the all-important bonus point on the league table. Ben Muncaster broke through on the right wing, but TMO ruled he had stepped out of play just yards before the score, resulting in a Cardiff line-out. Sub Lloyd Evans took the throw: too high tho allowing Canadian-born Ewan Ashman to steal the ball, and grab the bonus point for Edinburgh, in, almost, the last action of the game.
Edinburgh travel to Wales next week to face the Ospreys in Bridgend, where they will be hoping to add another victory to an impressive run over the last couple of games.
