Cockerill’s men on fire to land bonus point
EDINBURGH...34 DRAGONS ....... 17
AN Edinburgh side inspired by Magnus Bradbury in his comeback match secured a vital bonus-point win that keeps them in the race for the Pro14 play-offs.
They may have been missing some of their top Scotland stars, such as Grant Gilchrist and Stuart McInally, but Richard Cockerill’s men had enough in reserve to see off the Dragons.
Two tries from James Johnstone, a pair from Duhan van der Merwe and one from Bradbury secured victory for the hosts.
Bradbury, who was making his first appearance after four months out with a shoulder injury, had a superb game. Apart from his try, the flanker showed up well in open play and lasted the full 80 minutes at BT Murrayfield.
His performance must have caught the eye of Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, who is short of fit back-row players for next weekend’s Six Nations match in Paris.
Cockerill was delighted with the win, and backed Bradbury to play for Scotland against France if, as expected, he is called up by Townsend. He said: ‘You saw tonight he is physically ready. He may not have that many minutes under his belt but he now has a game under his belt. Magnus had a big shift physically as the game went on and he grew stronger and stronger.
‘With Scotland’s injury issues in the back row, you would imagine that he will be in the mix for next week. He is looking in great nick and is a young man in the prime of his life.’
Johnstone also did his international chances no harm with his two tries. With centre Huw Jones out of the French match through injury, he could be a late addition to the squad.
Edinburgh took the lead with a fantastic solo try from Johnstone after eight minutes. He showed the fleet of foot that made him a star in the Scotland sevens team by waltzing past four Dragons defenders to score. Jaco van der Walt put over the conversion.
Three minutes later, the Welsh outfit put together a string of three midfield passes to play in Tyler Morgan, with Josh Lewis adding the extras. Johnstone got his second try in 15 minutes through a slick move. Van der Walt and winger Darcy Graham combined to play in the Edinburgh centre. Van der Walt secured the conversion.
The tries just kept on coming and, four minutes later, Morgan earned his second of the game after he intercepted a pass from Chris Dean. Lewis got the extras and the Dragons fly-half was at it again with a successful penalty in 25 minutes.
There was no more scoring for the rest of the half, which meant the Welsh side went in at the break with a slender three-point lead.
Edinburgh nearly achieved a third try after the break but Graham narrowly missed out on touching down before the ball ran out of play. Lewis had put over two conversions and a penalty for Dragons but in his first kick of the second half — after Edinburgh were caught offside — he pulled his penalty attempt badly wide.
The first score of the second period came in 55 minutes when Van der Walt sent over yet another penalty to level matters.
With twenty minutes left, a short throw to the line-out by replacement hooker David Cherry set up an Edinburgh rolling maul. It wasn’t pretty to watch but their drive to the line paid dividends.
Bradbury was at the back to go over for the vital try after some superb work from the forwards. Edinburgh fly-half Van der Walt put over the conversion to make it a seven-point game.
Edinburgh had their tails up, with Graham and his fellow winger Van der Merwe going close.
Van der Merwe got the crucial fourth try to secure a bonus point with a solo run down the wing.
It looked like he had been stopped in his tracks by two Dragons defenders but he rolled over, never lost control of the ball and outstripped the rest of the Welsh defence to score.
After the fourth try in 68 minutes, the Edinburgh players were full of confidence as the minutes ticked down. They went through the phases steadily in attack, knowing the game was in the bag.
Van der Walt had a drop goal charged down before Van der Merwe went in at the corner with two minutes left for his second score. SCORERS: EDINBURGH — Tries:
Johnstone (2), Bradbury, Van der Merwe (2). Cons: Van der Walt (3). Pen: Van der Walt. DRAGONS — Tries: T Morgan (2). Cons: Lewis (2). Pen: Lewis.