Edinburgh show they are up for Challenge
Scots overpower Harlequins despite injury blow to Nel
DON’T let the scoreline fool you. Edinburgh won this game by a mile to put themselves in a strong position to top their pool in the European Challenge Cup and earn themselves a home quarter-final.
Though Harlequins had long periods of pressure, they never looked like scoring until the final two minutes, by which time Edinburgh were three scores ahead and starting to think about the flight home more than defending.
There was one major setback for Edinburgh, however, with WP Nel, the Scotland tighthead prop, wobbling off the field after 27 minutes following a blow to the head when making a tackle.
The incident demonstrated that while there has been a lot written and spoken about protecting the ball carrier, there is a lot less attention being paid to protecting the tackler.
Nel was clearly concussed and while it is a little early to be too gloomy, he has only a six-day turnaround before the Timisoara game.
Since the head-injury assessment takes six days if everything goes without a hitch, Nel has to be a doubt for that match and then Vern Cotter has to decide whether to risk him in Scotland colours on the basis of less than half-an-hour game time.
The detailed ramifications of the result will have to wait until the tournament organisers decide what to do about the Stade Francais match that was postponed due to bad weather in Romania.
However, if Edinburgh fulfil expectations and launch their time at their new home at Myreside with a bonus-point win over Timisoara, they will top the pool.
‘I’m absolutely delighted,’ said head coach Duncan Hodge. ‘The boys did exactly what we had talked about doing, and scored the tries when they got the chances. They played some great rugby.
‘They were actually disappointed about the tries they conceded at the end, but that should not take away from the overall performance. The defence was good and they took their chances.’
With top spot in the pool at stake and a home record to defend, it was hardly a surprise when Harlequins came out of the blocks quickly, establishing early pressure and twice engineering mauls on the Edinburgh line that were well stopped by the visitors.
The Scots worked hard to relieve the pressure and grabbed the first points when Duncan Weir slotted a penalty from their first meaningful attack, although Tim Swiel, his opposite number, quickly cancelled it out with one for the home side.
Edinburgh looked dangerous with the ball, however, and when they did get a chance to open up, they showed a sharp awareness when full-back Blair Kinghorn was put clear on the left wing.
He found Chris Dean in support and the forwards piled in to keep the move alive, with Cornell du Preez making a crucial contribution with a clever offload that allowed Fraser McKenzie to cut through and canter to the line for the opening try.
Nel had gone off to have treatment for his head injury before Damien Hoyland almost created a second try with a break down the wing that should have produced a score.
Although Weir was stopped inches short and home flanker James Chisholm was sin-binned for slowing possession at the ruck, Edinburgh made a mess of the resulting lineout and the chance was lost.
Another exchange of penalties between Weir and Swiel, meant the half ended with the Scots that one try ahead.
Harlequins came out of the blocks faster in the second half but, for all their effort, got nowhere against the resolute Edinburgh defence, who rarely looked troubled by the waves of big ball carriers coming their way.
When the break came, it was at the other end. The visitors had come close to a try when scrum-half Sean Kennedy had threaded a kick through and Phil Burleigh was just beaten to the ball.
Minutes later, however, they went one better when No 8 du Preez broke from halfway with man-of-thematch Hamish Watson supporting. The flanker then sent a perfect pass to Allan Dell, who showed a clean pair of heels on his way to the line.
A second attempt to kick through the flat-footed Harlequins defence kept the pressure on and, from the attacking position, Magnus Bradbury was held on the line.
With Harlequins illegally slowing the ball down, Weir was presented with chance to pull his side three scores clear and the fly-half made no mistake.
It was just as well for Edinburgh. Two tries in the final two minutes gifted Harlequins a losing bonus point — the first from a line-out maul touched down by replacement lock Mat Luamanu, the second when the Scots were slow getting back and hooker Joe Gray pounced on the loose ball.
It was a poor finish to the game for Edinburgh, but should not hide the fact that for the previous 78 minutes they had been excellent.
If only they can take the same form into the Guinness Pro12, they would be a dangerous team.