MISERY FOR EDINBURGH
Cockerill’s men swept aside by Ulster
An under-strength Edinburgh made a spirited fightback before letting undefeated Ulster sprint away to victory. the home side had f ought back from 19-0 down after just 25 minutes to being within five points on the hour mark.
then, in a vital few minutes, Jamie Farndale had a try ruled out for offside which would have put them ahead. the l et- off served as a wake- up call for Ulster, who went straight down the other end to score.
Edinburgh welcomed back Bill Mata after two months out injured but he blotted his copybook after being yellow- carded when he came off the bench.
that is now just two wins out of seven games in the Pro14 this season for Edinburgh, who have no strength in depth as the final scoreline showed.
without their top internationals, Richard cockerill’s men simply fell apart in the final 20 minutes as a rampant Ulster ended the night with seven tries.
the Irish side’s star man was hooker John andrew, who scored a hat-trick to help his side to eight straight league wins.
the character of an Edinburgh team that crumbled in the last 20 minutes has to be questioned by head coach cockerill, who has his work cut out to restore morale after such a thumping.
Edinburgh made the worst possible start, with Ulster centre Stewart Moore scoring after just two minutes. Scrum-half John cooney put over the extras.
the visitors increased their lead 18 minutes later when hooker andrew went over after a driving maul from the line-out.
their third try started with another line-out drive before the ball was released to the backs which allowed cooney to go over. the scrum-half put over the extras.
now 19-0 down after just 25 minutes, Edinburgh looked totally shell-shocked.
on the half-hour mark, they did show patience to go over for a try. the forwards laid the foundations and when the ball was recycled, full-back Jack Blain went over. nathan chamberlain converted.
Edinburgh came out firing on all cylinders in the second half in an attempt to get themselves back into the game. they knew it was vital to get an early try to the extent they turned down a simple penalty from in front of the posts in favour of kicking to the corner.
It seemed to have paid off when Blain crashed over but referee craig Evans wasn’t sure and sent the final decision to the tMo.
after five minutes of deliberation, he ruled the ball had not gone forward in the build up and told the referee to award the try. chamberlain put over the extras.
Edinburgh’s Henry Pyrgos was then held up short as he made a great run down the blindside. they were also aided on 50 minutes by the appearance off the bench of Mata. He replaced ally Miller.
on 53 minutes, they thought they had scored again. chamberlain hit the upright with his penalty attempt and when the ball bounced back into p l a y, Farndale was on to it first to touch down.
But, after the referee had watched replays of the incident, he ruled the Edinburgh player had been in front of chamberlain when he took the kick and ruled the try out.
It turned out to be a vital moment as Ulster picked up their game after the let-off and, on the hour mark, Jordi Murphy went over for their bonus-point try. cooney put over the extras.
cooney converted his own try with 12 minutes left to kill off any hopes Edinburgh had.
to rub it in, andrew then scored twice inside the final ten minutes to complete his hat-trick.
It rounded off a great night for Ulster, who ran riot over the final 20 minutes. Edinburgh, however, were left to lick their wounds.