Cockerill’s men are crushed by lethal Leinster
WOEFuL Edinburgh shipped eight tries last night i n one of their most embarrassing displays under richard Cockerill.
They may have been missing key players through injury and international call-ups, but that was no excuse for such a dreadful performance against reigning Pro14 champions Leinster.
There was a lack of leadership, too many passes went astray and the gulf in class between the sides was massive. There was also an unforgivable lack of energy and drive in the visitors’ ranks from first whistle to last.
With the likes of Stuart McInally, Hamish Watson, Bill Mata and
Jamie ritchie all away on Test duty, Cockerill’s supporting cast were given a chance.
But the replacements were awful and Edinburgh were never in the game. Even experienced players like former Scotland captain Henry Pyrgos and prop Pierre Schoeman — playing his 50th game for the club — did not turn up.
Leinster have now won all six of their opening games, with Edinburgh having just two wins on the board.
On this sort of form, Cockerill will be counting down the days until the i nternational stars return. At this rate, their chances of making the play-offs could be over by Christmas.
The wet and wild conditions ensured the opening exchanges were full of handling errors and poor kicking.
When the home side took the lead in the 13th minute, they did it in remarkable fashion, going nearly the length of the pitch to score.
Edinburgh hooker 0 Cherry made a real hash of a line- out throw just 20 metres away from the Leinster try-line. The ball went soaring over the heads of all the jumpers and into the hands of Liam Turner, who started the Leinster attack.
The home side moved the ball out wide until the only option was for winger Cian Kelleher to kick ahead. Edinburgh full-back Jack Blain looked to have it covered but was stripped of the ball which, after it was recycled, led to Jimmy O’Brien putting in a perfect grubber-kick for Dave Kearney to score in the corner.
Things went from bad to worse for Edinburgh when the Dublin outfit got their second try with just 20 minutes on the clock. Edinburgh were lacking numbers on the short side, which allowed Luke McGrath to exchange passes with Kearney before touching down in the corner. Ciaran Frawley put over the extras.
Edinburgh got their first points on the board on the half-hour mark when young fly-half Nathan Chamberlain put over a penalty from in front of the posts.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed three minutes before the break, though, when Leinster got their third try. A series of tap penalties by their forwards ended when prop Peter Dooley went over. Frawley got the conversion.
The scoring wasn’t over with McGrath getting his second try a minute before half-time. With Frawley’s conversion, the home side had already secured a bonus point and a 26-3 lead at the end of the first 40 minutes.
There was no let up from Leinster with Dan Leavy going over a minute after the break. Frawley kept up his good kicking with the conversion.
Things got worse for Edinburgh when winger Eroni Sau was yellowcarded for illegally stopping a Leinster try-scoring opportunity. The visitors were made to pay in the next play when a Harry Byrne cross-kick was touched down by
Kelleher in 47 minutes. Kelleher got another try six minutes later that Frawley converted.
It took until around the hour mark for Chamberlain to take the game to the home side for the first time with a mini-break.
Their forwards made some hard yards before James Johnstone and Schoeman were held up just short. Their pressure paid off when Groom took a quick penalty before diving over. Chamberlain put over the extras.
With ten minutes left, Leinster got their eighth try when Scott Penny played in Kelleher, who went over for his hat-trick.
It was a case of damage limitation for Edinburgh, who were relieved to have shipped just 50 points. In truth, it could have been many more.
EDINBURGH’S trip to Wales to face the Dragons has been postponed because of Covid-19.
The Welsh side’s training base was closed for a fortnight earlier this month after they returned seven positive tests.
It meant games against Connacht and Glasgow were postponed, and now Edinburgh’s visit next Monday has followed suit.