Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham both scored as Edinburgh sealed a morale-boosting, bonus-point victory over sorry Benetton.
A feeling has lingered for some time that the wingers perform like Rolls Royces for Scotland but more like Renaults whenever wearing a club shirt. The sight of both men crossing the line, then, would have no doubt pleased the Edinburgh head coach Sean Everitt although there were also concerns when both sustained injuries, with Van der Merwe limping off early in the second period.
That aside, this was a terrific night for Edinburgh who matched the aggression shown in defeat by Munster but with none of the ill-discipline to ease the pressure building on Everitt after a winless start to the season. There were also tries on their home debut for Dylan Richardson – who scored twice – and Piers O’Conor in what was an all-round impressive Edinburgh seven-try display. Benetton provided limited opposition, and lost two men to yellow cards early in the second half, and could have no complaints about the outcome.
Edinburgh forged in front within the opening five minutes. Magnus Bradbury created the opening with a tenacious carry down the middle, Cammy Scott, making his first Edinburgh start at fly half for nearly two years, then moved the ball along to Wes Goosen who shipped it wide to Van der Merwe. Rhyno Smith on the Benetton right wing was never going to win that foot race as Van der Merwe powered past him and down the line to dot down for his 48th Edinburgh try. Scott did his confidence the world of good by making a tricky conversion.
This was Edinburgh’s first home game of the season after the postponement of their match with Ulster and they seemed in a mood to impress a crowd bolstered by the city’s students taking advantage of cut-price tickets.
A second try helped to further settle any lingering nerves among the Edinburgh followers. Again, it was claimed by another South African-born Scotland international as Richardson enjoyed a first score since moving to the capital from the Sharks. The scrum-half Charlie Shiel, another enjoying a rare run-out, went quickly from the ruck after Ewan Ashman had been stopped short of the line. Richardson, with several of his heftier team-mates clinging to him to add additional ballast, rumbled across and did enough to get the ball down.
Graham showed his finishing ability for the third try
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Benetton, now led by a Scot in Calum MacRae, the former Edinburgh defence coach, arrived in Scotland buoyed by home wins over Glasgow Warriors and the Lions, running up 41 points in the latter. Their record on the road, however, has never been quite as formidable as on home soil, while the decision to rest the likes of Louis Lynagh and Tommaso Menoncello for this one also limited their attacking potency. When the Italians finally enjoyed a period of possession in the Edinburgh 22, a scrum penalty killed their momentum. They offered little else.
Edinburgh looked in control but the sight of Graham going down clutching his knee after competing for a high ball sparked anxious looks all around the stadium. The winger, who has endured a string of unfortunate injuries, twice received on-field medical treatment before gamely carrying on. With the first Scotland game of the autumn international series just a fortnight away, the hope must be that the damage isn’t as serious as it first appeared.
Richardson enjoyed a memorable home debut with two tries
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With most eyes drawn to the state of the stricken Graham, Edinburgh almost scored a third try with few watching as Ashman tried to emulate Van der Merwe by galloping down the left wing before the hooker ran out of gas and was stopped. Richardson could have notched a second score just before half-time after a ragged piece of kick-chase football only to knock on.
It was Graham who showed his team-mates how to do it. It seemed a miracle that the winger was even on the pitch but, whatever pain he was suffering, it evidently had no effect on his abilities. Shiel found Liam McConnell who flipped a tidy offload to Graham who danced around Smith before stretching for the line to leave Edinburgh well in control at the interval.
Instead, it was his wing partner Van der Merwe who limped off early in the second half moments before Malakai Fekitoa was shown a yellow card for a no-arms tackle, the centre barely back on when team-mate Alessandro Garbisi was taking his place in the sin-bin.
Van der Merwe’s early exit will give the Scotland coaching staff cause for concern
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Garbisi hadn’t yet completed his walk of shame when the match officials decided that Richardson had done enough to get the ball down for his second score and Edinburgh’s fourth on the night.
The home side were not finished there and were soon celebrating a fifth score. Goosen had the vision to burst through a gap, drawing the defender before sending in O’Conor for his first home try.
There was still time for two more scores. Bradbury embroidered a fine captain’s performance by burrowing over before Graham showed no ill-effect from his earlier injury by sprinting away for his team’s seventh.
Edinburgh W Goosen, D Graham, P O’Conor, J Lang, D van der Merwe (R McCann 45), C Scott (R Thompson 47), C Shiel (B Vellacott 66); P Schoeman (J Whitcombe 66), E Ashman (P Harrison 58), D Rae (P Hill 49), S Skinner, G Gilchrist, L McConnell (G Young 71), D Richardson (F Douglas 59), M Bradburydinburgh
Benetton M Gallagher, R Smith, F Drago (L Marin 54), M Fekitoa, I Mendy, J Umaga, L Werchon (A Garbisi 49); M Spagnolo (T Gallo 49), B Bernasconi (N Gasperini 58) G Zilocchi (T Pasquali 51), G Marini (R Favretto 51), E Snyman (F Ruzza 58), A Izekor, J Bryant (M Zuliani 51), S Fa’aso’o. Yellow cards Fekitoa 45, Garibisi 57
Scorers: Edinburgh: Tries Van der Merwe, Richardson 2, Graham 2, O’Conor, Bradbury Cons Scott 3, Thompson
Referee Ben Breakspear (WRU)