EDINBURGH HIT TREVISO HARD
EDINBURGH cruised to their first try bonus point win of the season in a match marred by violence that spilled into the crowd on a night of shame f or Treviso prop Romulo Acosta.
The Argentinian was correctly sent off for a series of cowardly punches to the back of the head of Fraser McKenzie as he lay on the ground. His actions angered the Edinburgh players so much that a series of fights broke out on the near touchline.
One of them involving Grayson Hart and Acosta was joined by so many players that the crash barriers broke and everybody ended up in with the crowd. Luckily no-one was injured. Hart was yellow-carded for retaliation over the incident that was started by the shameful actions of Acosta.
The clash took the shine off a decent performance by Edinburgh, who were always in control as they cruised to victory. For the first hour Edinburgh scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne was the star man and it was his try in just 44 seconds that laid the foundations for the easy win against the Pro12 bottom club.
It was a night when the capital outfit were rampant and should have won by many more points but the win will set them up well for the derby match against Glasgow Warriors two days after Christmas.
Edinburgh were forced into a late change when Anton Bresler called off just before the game with an ear infection. That meant McKenzie was promoted to the starting line-up, with Ollie Atkins coming onto the bench.
The readjustment didn’t affect Edinburgh, who got off to the best possible start straight from kick-off.
Full-back Jack Cuthbert got the ball before exchanging passes with stand- off Greig Tonks. As the Treviso defence opened up, the final pass from To nk s found Hidalgo-Clyne and he dived over the line. By putting over the extras, Hidalgo- Clyne gave his side a confidence-boosting 7-0 lead after just 44 seconds.
Treviso did their best to come straight back into the match and passed up the opportunity of a penalty in an attempt to get a try.
Unfortunately for the Italians, their poor handling allowed Edinburgh to clear their lines.
On a perfect night for goal-kicking, it was a surprise when Hidalgo-Clyne missed one from left of the posts.
The capital club had early supremacy in the scrum and when Matteo Muccignat took it down it gave Edinburgh another penalty that Hidalgo- Clyne this ti me gratefully accepted.
Although the hosts lost their attacking line-out after Tonks’ kick to the corner, they weren’t kept at bay for long. A set-piece at the other side of the park led to a maul which Edinburgh controlled before captain Mike Coman dived over the line, Hidalgo- Clyne’s conversion extending the lead.
With a 17-point cushion after just half an hour, Edinburgh tried to be too clever and were starting to butcher good opportunities. First hooker Neil Cochrane dropped the ball in an attacking position then the normally reliable Roddy Grant did the same.
At half- time, Edinburgh were dominant but should have had more points to show for all their territory and possession.
The second half saw Joaquin Dominquez on for centre Andries Strauss, who had been anonymous in the first period.
Treviso tried their best to take the game from the kick-off but yet again their poor handling let them down.
Having the home side pinned down in the corner should have resulted in a try but a knock- on from Serge Budd Dean gave Tonks the chance to clear his lines.
Hidalgo-Clyne was at it again with a penalty to stretch Edinburgh’s lead after Treviso were caught offside.
The Italian outfit didn’t help themselves moments later when Francesco Minto was sinbinned.
The first time the Edinburgh crowd got to their feet came when Tim Visser set off on a great run up the touchline. The Dutch- born Scottish i nternationalist was stopped short but that inspired his side.
With David Denton pushing them on, the capital club mauled their way to the try line which allowed replacement WP Nel to go over for a try, converted by Hidalgo-Clyne.
Moments later Hart, who had come on for Hidalgo-Clyne, went over f or a tr y converted by replacement Tom Heathcote.
The match then erupted in violence when Treviso replacement Acosta punched McKenzie on the ground and was deservedly shown the red card.
Hart, who re t a l i a t e d, was yellow- carded for his part in the fight that led to the collapse of a crashbarrier with the players ending up in the crowd.
Wi t h th e man advantage Edinburgh went further ahead with another try from Grant that was converted by Heathcote to put them 41-0 ahead.
Their success was complete in the final minute when Denton went over for a try converted by Heathcote.