Cockerill toasts a huge result as Edinburgh go top with win in Wales
EDINBURGH shot to the top of Conference B of the Pro14 with a masterful defensive performance in appalling conditions in Wales.
Richard Cockerill’s side were forced to dig deep as the Scarlets dominated but first-half tries from Duhan van der Merwe and Matt Scott were enough to secure Edinburgh’s fifth victory in a row over the Llanelli-based outfit.
‘It is a massive win,’ said Cockerill. ‘They are a good side. They are well coached.
‘We have played them twice. We have taken nine points and they have one, which in our conference is pretty big.
‘The conditions made it hard work but we live in Scotland. It rains a lot and it’s windy. You have to deal with it. You have to dig in. It wasn’t pretty.
‘They were unlucky at times but you ride your luck and we will keep taking it.
‘Our defensive display across the board was very good. Calum MacRae, our defence coach, is a tenacious man and he works very hard at it. He should take the plaudits today because the defence won the game for us.’
Edinburgh were boosted by the release of six Scotland internationals from Gregor Townsend’s Six Nations squad, with WP Nel, Grant Gilchrist,
Nick Haining, Luke Crosbie,
Henry Pyrgos and try-scorer
Scott named in the starting XV.
The weather was so bad that Scarlets were forced to shut one stand for health-and-safety reasons — with Edinburgh prop Pierre Schoeman claiming the conditions were some of the worst he had ever played in.
It was a shock that the game had actually gone ahead as the rain pelted down in west Wales, with one Pro14 fixture —Dragons versus Benetton — having already been called off.
The wind made it a nightmare for both teams’ kickers.
On one occasion, Edinburgh outside-half Jaco van der Walt lined up a kick to touch on the halfway line but instead of finding touch the ball swerved almost
360 degrees over the dead-ball line.
Edinburgh made a perfect start when van der Merwe brushed off a weak tackle from Scarlets centre Kieron Fonotia deep inside his own half before showing tremendous pace to run in unopposed from 50 metres out.
However, Scarlets replied strongly, with Cockerill’s men forced to defend wave after wave of pressure from the home team.
All Scarlets could muster in the first 40 minutes, though, were two penalties from the boot of
Dan Jones.
Edinburgh dealt their hosts a severe psychological blow on the stroke of half-time.
In only their sixth visit into the Scarlets half, Van der Merwe ran straight through the opposition defence as if nobody was there before putting Scotland centre Scott over for the second try.
Van der Walt added the extras to give Cockerill’s side a 14-6 lead at the interval.
Edinburgh were then dealt a blow when replacement second-row Fraser McKenzie was forced to leave the field a mere three minutes after entering the fray due to a dislocation of his shoulder.
Scarlets dominated territory and possession in the third quarter, applying a large amount of pressure in the Edinburgh 22.
But it was a carbon copy of the first half, with Edinburgh managing to win the collisions which allowed them to shove their opponents backwards.
Scarlets started shifting the ball wide and were only just denied a try, with Edinburgh’s Viliame Mata knocking Steffan Hughes after the hosts had worked an overlap on the blindside.
But Scarlets must have felt as if they were running flat out at a brick wall, with Edinburgh’s defence seeming impregnable as Cockerill’s men held firm to secure a significant victory.
SCORERS; Scarlets — Pens: D Jones (3). Scarlets — Tries: Van der Merwe, Scott. Cons: Van der Walt (2).
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland).