The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Edinburgh urged to use narrow Pro14 defeat as springboard for future
PRO14: Capital side lose out in narrow defeat to European giants
Proud but frustrated Richard Cockerill reckons Edinburgh’s tense Pro14 quarter-final defeat by Munster will act as a springboard for future glory.
The capital side were squeezed out 20-16 by the European giants in Limerick.
And the coach insisted it was a case of “so near yet so far” for his troops.
Cockerill said: “Ultimately you get what you deserve and we got what we deserved. But to push so hard a side like them on their own patch is something we can take great pride from.
“They were defending for their lives at the end. We are not in the same league as these guys. But this was a good starting point – and we have shown that at least we can compete and have earned the respect of these teams.”
Cockerill’s side arrived in sunny Limerick buoyed by a record 15 league victories, qualification for the Champions Cup and last week’s recapturing of the 1872 Cup against Glasgow Warriors.
Jamie Ritchie’s withdrawal brought Lewis Carmichael into their back row.
Edinburgh fell behind when skipper Stuart McInally’s overthrown lineout in his 22 allowed his opposite number Marshall to neatly step inside Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and power over for the opening try, converted with aplomb by Hanrahan.
Duhan van der Merwe and Bill Mata’s powerful running began to cause problems for Munster, and Mark Bennett threatened a try before Simon Berghan knocked on close to the posts.
James Cronin coughed up a cheap penalty which Hidalgo-Clyne turned into three points, and the Munster prop infringed again as the Edinburgh scrumhalf reduced the margin to the minimum in the 24th minute.
Munster’s replacement tighthead prop Ciaran Parker won a scrum penalty which Hanrahan pushed wide of the target, with the hosts’ overuse of the boot in general play allowing the Scots to have the lion’s share of possession.
More loose kicking and missed tackles from Munster invited their opponents forward and full-back Blair Kinghorn countered from deep before an important tackle by Earls and a turnover from Cronin halted Edinburgh’s progress.
It was Earls who benefited from some magic from Zebo, who collected his own chip in midfield and sprayed a sublime pass off his left for the onrushing winger to gather and turn into a try in the corner. Hanrahan’s conversion and subsequent penalty suddenly made it 17-6.
But Cockerill’s men were back within a point by the hour mark, Hidalgo-Clyne landing his third successful penalty and a poor kick from full-back Zebo eventually leading to Fowles touching down, following some terrific running by both Mata and Kinghorn.
The conversion from Jaco van der Walt teed up a gripping final quarter.
The Scots thought they had the edge in the scrum, however they lost ground through set-piece offences and knockons, and a lineout infringement allowed Hanrahan to land the match winner from Edinburgh’s 10-metre line.