Edinburgh deserved better in defeat, says Cockerill

Edinburgh chief admits Rizzo red was turning point in Llanelli

Edinburgh prop Michele Rizzo was sent off as Scarlets sealed a 28-8 bonus point victory over Edinburgh in their Guinness PRO14 clash at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.

Rizzo saw red from referee John Lacey in the 46th minute after he smashed Scarlets scrum-half Gareth Davies’ head at a ruck. That was the turning point in the contest which the home side won four tries to one.

Scarlets’ tries came from Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies, Werner Kruger and Aaron Shingler, with Leigh Halfpenny kicking all four conversions. Jason Harries scored Edinburgh’s only try, with Duncan Weir adding a penalty.

Head coach Richard Cockerill insisted he had no quibbles about Lacey’s decision – but claimed it was the pivotal moment of the Pro14 showdown with the champions.

Rizzo was guilty of flattening scrum half Gareth Davies with a shoulder-first hit in the aftermath of a ruck early in the second half.

Cockerill said: “By the letter of the law,

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Our effort, our mentality and our endeavour deserved more out of the game. RICHARD COCKERILL

if there is a shoulder to the head then you have no choice. Rules are rules and unfortunately for us it was very costly.”

Rizzo – on loan from Leicester Tigers – looks certain to cop a ban of several weeks when he faces disciplinary chiefs this week.

The player’s moment of madness apart, Cockerill believes his men had produced a gutsy display against Scarlets, nicknamed the Turks.

He added: “I’m happy with them because they gave everything. We were second best because we deserved to be. The previous week we didn’t give everything and that’s not acceptable. I’m pleased with the effort and application in Wales.”

“Our effort, our mentality and our endeavour deserved more out of the game. We made Scarlets work for the win and there’s a lot we can build on there.

“This is part of the learning curve. Scarlets are the champions and they are better than us. But they weren’t hugely better than us and we’ve got to keep building on that.

“I wanted commitment from our players and I wanted them to stay in the battle and I thought we did. We need to go to Leinster on Friday with the same mindset.”

Gunners had found momentum after going 14-0 down. Duncan Weir’s penalty and a brilliant try by winger Jason Harries put them right back in the hunt.

But their chances evaporated when Rizzo departed and the home troops bagged two more touchdowns in quick succession.