Celtic Cup Semi-final / Connacht 25 Edinburgh 26: Connacht can pat themselves on the back for their achievement in providing an internationally strong Edinburgh with a stern examination, or give themselves a beating for presenting their opponents with too many opportunities to win this Celtic Cup semi-final in Galway on Saturday.
"Disappointed, yes, having got so close," admitted Connacht coach Michael Bradley. "We really had a great chance today. We played well in patches and then not so well in others."
Three drop goals, under pressure and too far out, coupled with a late penalty from just inside half way, had the large crowd on the edge. But this time Mark McHugh just could not deliver.
"If Connacht had shown a little more composure, the result could have been different," Bradley said. "At times we showed our ability to play very good football.
"We responded twice to situations where we had fallen behind by more than one score to bring the game to the final whistle."
If Edinburgh deserved this win, it was due to a superior try count - four against Connacht's hat-trick from Darren Yapp.
With eight internationals, Edinburgh played controlled and effective rugby. Yet Connacht matched them for most of the match. After trailing 14-0 after 20 minutes, they came back to trail by just four at the break.
Both of those Edinburgh tries came from Connacht mistakes. A lost lineout resulted in Edinburgh showing superb continuity skills before Craig Smith dived over the line. The second came from a turnover in midfield when Allister Hogg found Brendan Laney who converted both tries.
After Eric Elwood settled Connacht with a penalty after 22 minutes, it was Yapp who carved through midfield to score.
Within six minutes of the restart Yapp added his second following tight rucking and driving. When Elwood added a penalty the home side led by 18-14.
However two tries in as many minutes proved crucial. After spurning a first overlap, Derrick Lee took advantage, and two minutes later Laney contrived a break from half way to put Edinburgh in the driving seat.
Connacht pushed forward and Yapp claimed his hat-trick on 75 minutes. Elwood's conversion brought them within a point but, despite a penalty and five minutes of concerted pressure, on this occasion luck was not on their side.
SCORING SEQUENCE: 12 mins: Smith try, Laney con, 0-7; 17 mins: Laney try, Laney con, 0-14; 22 mins: Elwood pen 3-14; 29 mins: Yapp try, Elwood con, 10-14; half-time: 10-14. 46 mins: Yapp try, 15-14; 49 mins: Elwood pen, 18-14; 52 mins: Lee try, 18-19; 54 mins: Laney try and con, 18-26; 75 mins: Yapp try, Elwood con, 25-26.
CONNACHT: D Hewitt; M Mostyn, D Yapp, M McHugh, C McPhillips; E Elwood, M Walls; R Hogan, B Jackman (capt), A Clarke, D Browne, A Farley, M Swift, P Neville, J O'Sullivan. Replacements: F Boiroux for Hogan, 10 mins; T Carter for Swift, 55 mins; C O'Loughlin for Walls, 55 mins.
EDINBURGH: D Lee; S Webster, M Di Rollo, C Joiner, H Southwell; B Laney, R Lawson; A Jacobsen, A Kelly, C Smith, S Murray, A Kellock, T Blackadder, S Cross, A Hogg. Replacements: G Burns for Lawson, 53 mins; C De Ciacca for Kelly, 69 mins; A Dall for Cross, 69 mins.
Referee: N Owens (Wales).
