ALL EYES TURN TO RACING FOR COCKERILL AND EDINBURGH

DRAGONS 24 EDINBURGH 17

AFTER another loss to end his team’s Pro14 season, Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill is keen to salvage some pride in the knockout stage of the Heineken Champions Cup against Racing 92. And he expects to have all his Scotland players back for the last-16 match in Paris next weekend. With Hamish Watson, Duhan van der Merwe, Darcy Graham, David Cherry, Nick Haining, Simon Berghan, WP Nel, Grant Gilchrist and Jamie Ritchie set to be available again, Cockerill said after yesterday’s defeat to Dragons: ‘It will be the first time we’ve had our internationals back for nearly ten weeks. ‘We’ve earned the right to still be in Europe and have a very tough assignment. Our season is on the line as the league is over. ‘We go to Paris as underdogs but we’ll try and turn them over.’ Although fly-half Jaco van der Walt went off injured yesterday, he should be fit, while opposite number Finn Russell is expected to be banned after being sent off for Scotland against France last Friday. Cockerill, whose side finished second bottom of their Pro14 conference table, added: ‘At least we have one last game in Europe to try and make a mark.’ Dragons scored three first-half tries — two from Matthew Screech and one from Jonah Holmes — with Mesu Kunavula pulling one back for the visitors. In the second period, Edinburgh merited at least a draw after adding further tries from Charlie Shiel and Blair Kinghorn. They cut the deficit to seven points but, in the last minute, winger Eroni Sau was held up over the try line.

SCORERS; DRAGONS — Tries: Screech (2), Holmes. Cons: S Davies (3). Pen: S Davies. EDINBURGH — Tries: Kunavula, Shiel, Kinghorn. Con: Kinghorn.