Edinburgh 56 Connacht 8
Connacht’s recent run of two victories came to a shuddering halt on Friday night as Andy Friend’s men leaked eight tries to an Edinburgh side that, after starting diffidently, found a winning rhythm to exploit the visitors’ porous defence.
Yet going into the second quarter Connacht led 8-0 after an opening twenty minutes in which their backline operated with menacing efficiency . But once Edinburgh found their rhythm nothing it seemed could stop the Scottish side from taking charge of the game and inflicting a crushing defeat on their opponents.
Connacht’s dominant start, aided by a yellow card shown to Edinburgh’s number 8 Mesulame Kunavula, brought quick points from Jack Carty who was at the heart of the visitors’ potent attacks that had the Edinburgh defence scrambling to stay in the game.
Then when Carty again created space, Connacht turned pressure into points with a try from accurate handling and a final long pass from Ireland squad returnee Dave Heffernan that allowed Peter Sullivan to squeeze over in the corner for an 8-0 lead.
But rather like sudden changes in the Scottish weather, Edinburgh, after tidying up their attacking play transformed their fortunes, hit Connacht with a try from a lineout steal and a clever attack down the blindside by Blair Kinghorn whose flat pass put Emiliano Boffelli over for the home side’s opening try.
Boffelli converted his own try and before half-time added the extras to two further tries from full back Henry Immelman and hooker Dave Cherry to give Edinburgh a useful 21-8 interval lead.
Connacht’s hopes of regaining a foothold in the game were sunk a minute into the second half when Kinghorn created and finished off Edinburgh’s bonus point try, converted by Boffelli. Thereafter Edinburgh, fuelled by a full tank of confidence added tries by Ramiro Moyano, Immelman, Glen Young and Ben Vellacot all converted by Boffelli for their best victory of the season.
Scorers
Edinburgh Rugby: Tries Boffelli, Immelman (2), Cherrry, Kinghorn, Moyano, Young, Vellacot Cons Boffello (8)
Connacht: Try Sullivan Pen Carty
Edinburgh: H Immelman; R Moyano, J Lang, C Dean, E Boffelli; B Kinghorn, H Pyrgos; B Venter, D Cherry, A Williams; P Phillips, G Young; B Muncaster, C Boyle, M Kunavula.
Replacements: B Vellacot for Pyrgos (49 mins), H Courtney for Venter, L Atalifo for Williams, A McBurney for Cherry (all 62 mins), R Brown for Kunavula (63 mins), J van der Walt for Moyano (65 mins), M Currie for Lang (66 mins), J Campbell for Young (69 mins).
Connacht: J Porch; P Sullivan, S Arnold, T Daly, A Wootton; J Carty, C Blade; J Duggan, D Heffernan, J Aungier; O Dowling, L Fifita; C Prendergast, C Oliver, P Boyle.
Replacements: T Farrell for Wooton (46 mins), S Delahunt for Heffernan (49 mins), D Robertson-McCoy for Aungier, A Papali'i for Boyle (both 51 mins), T Tuimauga for Duggan (52 mins), Heffernan for Delahunt (59 mins), J Butler for Oliver (61 mins), K Marmion for Blade (64 mins), N Murray for Fifita (67 mins).
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
