Precious win boosts Edinburgh
ALAN Solomons described Edinburgh’s 20-9 win over Scarlets on Friday night as “critically important”, and a look at the fixture list shows why. With Leinster to visit Murrayfield on Friday night, and then trips to Munster and Connacht to come, Edinburgh have a tough run of games coming up.
Defeat by the Welsh side would have raised the prospect of a long losing run early in the Guinness PRO12 season for Edinburgh, who began their campaign with a concerning loss at Cardiff. Victory over a poor Scarlets outfit at least gives the squad a measure of self-confidence as they prepare for the tougher challenges.
The platform for the win was built by two tries late in the first half, which capitalised on Scarlets’ mistakes. First, Michael Allen touched down after Liam Williams failed to deal with a deep kick from Duncan Weir, then Magnus Bradbury collected a lucky bounce off Phil Burleigh’s shin after Rhys Patchell miskicked a clearance in his own 22.
If there was an element of fortune in both scores, however, the second half was all about collective composure in defence, and something approaching a masterclass from Weir in how to deal with wet and windy conditions. Edinburgh did not add to their score, but restricted their opponents to a single penalty. Even allowing for Scarlets’ creative limitations, it was an encouraging display by Solomons’ side, who in previous outings this season had fallen below their previous high standards in defence.
“Last season we didn’t finish games well,” said Bradbury, who was yellowcarded early in the second half for a tip tackle. “From this season we want to start well and keep that building through the game.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t start well. We got our heads in gear – after my yellow card actually – and when I came back it felt like we were an entirely different team.”
All the same, Bradbury knows that this modest improvement needs to continue if Edinburgh are to have a chance against Leinster. “Our basic skills have to improve,” he added. “Unforced errors, dropping balls – that’s what’s killing us.”