Edinburgh’s flying start earns bonus to keep Cockerill happy

EDINBURGH delivered a statement of intent with a slick showing in their opening European Challenge Cup clash in France last night. Indeed, the only disappointment for the Scots will be that they allowed their opponents to cross the whitewash in the second half of the Pool 3 contest at Stade Armandie. Richard Cockerill’s men went behind against the run of play, but their response was impressive. By half-time, they were firmly in control and although the intensity levels dipped after the break, Edinburgh were never in any danger of losing. ‘I thought we started well and, to be fair to Agen, they were pretty game,’ said Cockerill. ‘We made some errors in the second half, but we picked a team that we thought would come and perform. ‘We did that in parts and it’s a good result for us. We came and we’ve got all the points. Overall, we have to be happy.’ Cockerill, who has played and coached on the other side of the English Channel, exhibited his knowledge of French rugby, as well as his shrewd judgment, by choosing to rotate his squad for what will undoubtedly be the easiest away match in their Pool. Nevertheless, he balanced his team by listing four World Cup players alongside a sprinkling of talented others, whom he had challenged to make their mark. For Top-14 strugglers Agen, it was a case of using the European competition to blood youngsters and bring back several more experienced players who had been out because of injury. The visitors started well but failed to capitalise on early pressure. And it was Agen who

set the scoreboard ticking when Thomas Vincent kicked a penalty after 11 minutes. But Edinburgh responded superbly with three excellent tries in 11 minutes. George Taylor broke from deep and the ball passed through the hands of Eroni Sau and then James Johnstone, who sent Taylor scampering in for the opener. The inside-centre also claimed the second touchdown. He darted through a stretched defence after skipper Grant Gilchrist had made a big dent before a deft offload. And the third was a fine solo effort from Damien Hoyland. He kicked ahead and showed his pace as he won the race to the ball, then gathered and dived over in the right-hand corner. Simon Hickey was on target with all three conversions, leaving Edinburgh in charge at the break, which they reached with a 21-3 lead. As the second half got underway, Edinburgh had the bonus-point score firmly in their sights. However, their next score came from a penalty by the impressive Hickey. Both coaches rang the changes and it was the French side that benefited first from the fresh blood. The ball was swept along the line to Benito Masilevu, who squeezed in at the corner. Raphael Lagarde easily banged over the conversion to take Agen’s tally into double figures. The hosts then enjoyed an extended spell of pressure but couldn’t turn it into further points. And Cockerill’s side made them pay after managing to break out from under the shadow of their own posts and spending the closing five minutes hammering at a resolute Agen defence. They were rewarded for that pressure deep into injury time when a penalty was kicked into touch and a powerful surge at the ensuing lineout ended with Cammy Fenton applying the final touch to secure the bonus point. Hickey’s fourth conversion of the night added gloss to the scoreline.