Tovey turns it around as Edinburgh run riot
EDINBURGH recorded their fifth win on the spin in all competitions, beating the Ospreys at Myreside with Welshman Jason Tovey leading the way against his countrymen with 22 points.
The visitors looked in control in the opening quarter, but the wheels then fell off and moments of ill-discipline cost them.
Edinburgh grabbed the bonus point try in the last minute when replacement back-row Magnus Bradbury, just back after an internal suspension, crashed over to make it 37-10.
Their head coach Richard Cockerill said: “It was a bit of a slow start, but the guys resolved a few issues and went on to play some good rugby.
“It keeps the good run going and we now get ready for two matches in South Africa at the end of the month.”
The hosts had the first chance to get points on the board, but stand-off Tovey’s penalty attempt drifted wide.
The Ospreys then got themselves into things and following a couple of good lineout drives and a patient build-up, they scored the evening’s first try.
It came in the 12th minute when scrum-half Brendon Leonard set-up prop Dmitri Arhip to crash over from close range. Stand-off Sam Davies converted and it was 7-0 to the visitors.
Edinburgh were struggling to string phases of play together, but they did earn a second kickable penalty in the 17th minute and Tovey made no mistake.
The Ospreys were still in charge of proceedings, though, and after some great work which saw them string roughly 15 phases together then earned a penalty in the Edinburgh ‘22’.
The result was a penalty by Davies which made it 10-3.
Edinburgh then switched on and started getting their dangerous outside backs into the game and things began to change.
A good break by winger Tom Brown down the left eventually led to a try from full-back Blair Kinghorn, No.8 Cornell du Preez the man giving the 20-year-old the scoring pass. Tovey converted.
Leonard was then yellow carded for a swinging arm on Edinburgh back-row Luke Crosbie and, from the resultant penalty, Tovey put the home side 13-10 up.
And it was to be a sixpoint lead at the interval, a third Tovey penalty going over as the Ospreys discipline continued to let them down.
The Ospreys started the second half still with Leonard on the sidelines – and Edinburgh scored a converted try to make it 13 points they had put on the board when the visitors were shorthanded.
The try was finished off by Nathan Fowles, but owed much to the good build-up work by centre James Johnstone and Kinghorn. Tovey again converted. And the amazing turn- around in this game was completed in the 55th minute when Edinburgh extended their advantage to 30-10.
It came thanks to a converted try by Tovey, the No.10 ghosting through a gap from 15 metres out to score under the posts and then convert.
They then huffed and puffed before the final try by Bradbury, inevitably converted by Tovey, put the icing on the cake.