ERRORS SO COSTLY FOR EDINBURGH
Last-gasp drop goal leaves Blair urging side to learn painful lesson
EDINBURGH head coach Mike Blair has warned his players they have to ‘learn lessons quickly’ on how to close out games as they lost to a dramatic lastminute drop goal against Benetton.
Defending a twopoint lead and with the clock heading into the red, they made a succession of errors that allowed the Italian slide to line-up a match-winning effort for replacement Leonardo Marin with 84 minutes on the clock.
‘I spoke to the guys afterwards and it’s not on the half-backs this,’ said Blair. ‘This is about everyone in the team in terms of overall game management and understanding with three or four minutes to go how we have to make sure we win this game. All of that discipline, clear decision-making, looking after the ball has to be looked at and we have to learn our lessons quickly.
‘I am gutted as we put ourselves in a position to win the game but didn’t do it. We let them back into it which was disappointing, especially as when we got our game going we looked very strong on the ball, very strong on defence but we just need to get that consistency throughout the full 80 minutes.
‘Benetton did well to get back into it and it was an excellent kick but we gave them that opportunity.’
In an entertaining and errorstrewn game, the Italians got off to the best possible start with a try in four minutes from hooker Gianmarco Lucchesi after flanker Michele Lamaro won a turnover that set up the score.
Edinburgh soaked up the pressure well then a perfect 50:22 kick from centre James Lang won them a throw-in at the lineout near the Benetton line. They won their own ball and after good carries from Jamie Ritchie and Jamie Hodgson, 35-year-old prop W P Nel rumbled over the line. Fly-half Jaco van der Walt put over the extras.
Benetton fly-half Tomas Albornoz put over a penalty after Edinburgh full-back Henry Immelman was caught offside before a piece of magic from Ben Vellacott restored the lead.
The scrum-half started things off with a quick-tap penalty and when the ball came out from the breakdown, he identified the space in front of him and after sidestepping Iliesa Tavuyara scored under the posts. Van der Walt put over the conversion.
It was all Edinburgh with Stuart McInally and Boan Venter being held up just short by the valiant Benetton
defence. It was never going to hold much longer with Vellacott pouncing on the ball at the breakdown to score his second try.
Benetton regrouped well and an Albornoz cross-field kick found the unmarked winger Monty Ione to score in the corner. Albornoz put over the extras to cut the deficit to four points. Edinburgh winger Darcy Graham made a couple of runs from deep but apart from that neither side troubled the try line again before the break. Vellacott provided the early spark in the second half keeping the tempo of the Edinburgh attack high. Centre Mark Bennett made a good intercept before Graham broke the Benetton defence with his kick ahead nearly being touched down by front-row forward Venter, who just lost out in a sprint with Benetton winger Ione to get to it first.
It was end-to-end stuff, with Edinburgh full-back Immelman beating Ioane to the ball when it looked like he was going to score before an ambitious drop goal from Albornoz went wide.
Nine minutes after the break, Edinburgh got their fourth try that secured the bonus-point try after Grant Gilchrist took the ball from the line-out and, from the driving maul, captain McInally went over. The Italians hit back, though, with a penalty from replacement Marin.
His fellow replacement Giacomo Nicotera was shown a harsh yellow card for obstructing Graham as he went for the ball with 20 minutes left to play. That should have given the visitors an advantage but it didn’t turn out like that as superb defending from Pierre Schoeman to stopped a Benetton driving maul that was heading for the try line.
While still being a man down and with 10 minutes left, hooker Lucchesi went over for his second try of the game, with Marin’s conversion giving his side a onepoint lead but it didn’t last for long. Two phases after the break, Benetton gave away a penalty at the scrum and Van der Walt put over a longrange kick with five minutes left.
As the game reached its climax it was Benetton who kept their nerve. Immelman kicked the ball out on the full and then Edinburgh gave away a penalty in the Italian half
when Ritchie was penalised for not releasing. From the penalty, the home side kicked to the corner and after Edinburgh were penalised at the line-out and also knocked on, the Italians managed to set up the drop-goal attempt.
It wasn’t an easy kick for Marin but he struck it sweetly to spark scenes of Italian celebration.
SCORERS: Benetton — Tries: Lucchesi (2), Ioane. Cons: Albornaz, Marin. Pens: Albornoz, Marin (2). Drop goal: Marin.
Edinburgh — Tries: Nel, Vellacott (2), McInally. Cons: Van der Walt (2). Van der Walt.