“I’m very proud of the boys and the effort that they put in tonight,” said Everitt afterwards. “It was great that they were able to play the conditions as well as they did, and credit to Ben Vellacott and especially Cammy Scott for the way they managed the game.
“The guys were obviously anxious to improve on their performance last week [against Ospreys], which was probably a little bit disjointed as we all admitted during the week. So, just happy for the guys and the way the forward pack got stuck in to a quality outfit there – an international pack from around the world. The boys can be really proud of their efforts and the physicality that they showed in the set-pieces.
“Toulon obviously came out to win with the team that they picked, but we got a taste of what European rugby is about, and we’re going to have to step up again next week,” he added. “We’re going to enjoy it tonight. But then get back on the bike on Tuesday and start working hard for Castres next Sunday.
Toulon were quick to set out their stall, helped by Edinburgh’s clearance from the visitors’ long kick-off barely making it out of the home 22, which provided a platform for the rampaging Lewis Ludlum to carry three defenders over the line with him. However, the English flanker failed to get the ball down, meaning his team had to make do with just three points instead, scored by full-back Melvyn Jaminet, who collected the goal-line drop-out and launched a torpedo drop-kick of his own right back through the posts.
Five minutes later. Toulon stretched their lead when they set up a ruck right in front of the posts from stolen line-out possession, from which Scotland scrum-half Ben White sniped over to score, setting up an easy conversion for Jaminet.
A high tackle on Pierre Schoeman on the Toulon 10-metre line gave Cammy Scott a chance to calm home nerves, and he duly obliged, and the home bounce-back was compete when Ewan Ashman pierced the Toulon defence by sweeping round the back of a ruck to collect the ball on a well-disguised running line, and Schoeman finally went over a few phases later after a series of close-range drives.
Edinburgh could not, however, maintain that momentum, with Toulon’s powerful pack bullying their way back to the home try-line, and after punishing period of pressure, White sneaked over for his second, to set up another straight-forward conversion for Jaminet,
Ben Vellacott was entitled to be frustrated when he took a quick tap-penalty and was tackled by a player who hadn’t retired 10 only for referee Matthew Carley to award a scrum against him for a knock-on. Insult was added to injury when he was manhandled several-yards backwards by Zach Mercer in the next passage of play. But the diminutive scrum-half was soon looking chipper again when a scrum penalty for the hosts was sent to the corner, an excellent line-out maul swung back towards the touchline, and a lovely backhanded pass from Ashman gave the No 9 a chance to finish the try with an athletic dive into the corner.
Scott couldn’t manage the touchline conversion, but he was bang-on the money when Edinburgh powered right back into the Toulon 22 and the offside Ignacio Brex got in the way of Vellacott as he tried to move the ball from the base of a ruck. The successful kick at goal gave the capital side the lead for the first time in the match.
Edinburgh ended the half on the front foot again, thanks to an electrifying break from his own half by Darcy Graham off a breakdown snaffle by Dylan Richardson, which required a brilliant cover tackle from replacement Toulon full-back Matéo Garcia.
And Scott came very close to stretching the home lead when he dropped into the box for a drop-goal attempt but ended up receiving a pass along the ground, so instead showed quick-wittedness and even faster feet to jink past two would-be tacklers then chip ahead into the in-goal area, prompting a mad scramble which Toulon managed – just – to get to first.
Scotland scrum-half Ben White was a double try-scorer in a losing cause against Edinburgh. Image: © Craig Watson – www.craigwatson.co.uk
Edinburgh thought they had struck first after the break when James Lang collected a Toulon up-and-under on the first bounce and fed Vellacott, with Paul Hill and Ashman also carrying effectively, before Graham finished the move. Unfortunately, referee Carley asked the TMO to take another look, and it was judged that Graham had in fact knocked-on the ball as he’d attempted to collect the initial kick, which didn’t go down well at all with the home support.
Both teams were intent on moving the ball despite the cold and wet conditions, and while there was some juggling, Edinburgh generally did well to keep control of possession. Toulon didn’t fair quite so well when they tried to pass their way out of trouble on their own 22, and ended up fumbling and Esteban Abadie conceded a playing on the deck penalty, which Scott didn’t need a second invitation to turn into three more valuable points.
Frustratingly, Hill was penalised straight from the restart for going off his feet, allowing Garcia to strike back immediately.
When David Ribbans struck Liam McConnell on side of the head on the deck, the red card was a very definite possibility, but Carley ruled yellow, presumably because it was an open hand rather than clenched fist.
The referee then came up with an even stranger call when McConnell thought he had taken advantage of there being no offside line in the on-goal area to dive on the ball at the base of a ruck, only for the ruling to be that the ball had in fact been touched down by replacement Toulon scrum-half Baptiste Serin.
That left both teams bemused, with Serin convinced the ball had not gone back over the line at all meaning McConnell had no right to dive in, while McConnell argued that the idea that Serin had touched the ball down in that position was, frankly, preposterous.
It was the hosts who made better use of that sense of grievance, super-charging the subsequent scrum-five to earn a penalty try. And with their set-piece now dominant and Scott having a field day kicking from hand, Edinburgh soon put the game to bed.
Replacement loose-head Boan Venter – the hero of that penalty try – rumbled over from close-range to make it a 13-point game and only five minutes left on the clock.
Scott’s conversion came back off the post – which might be regarded as a minor blot on an otherwise wonderfully polished all-round performance from the stand-off – but it was academic in the end, as Edinburgh comfortably saw out the game.
Teams –
Edinburgh: H Paterson (P O’Conor. 57), D Graham (C Shiel 78), W Goosen, J Lang, D van der Merwe, C Scott, B Vellacott; P Schoeman (B Venter 55), E Ashman (H Morris 78), O Blyth-Laffety (P Hill 41), M Sykes (G Young 59), G Gilchrist, L McConnell, D Richardson (F Douglas, 55), M Bradbury.
Toulon: M Jaminet (M Garcia 22); G Drean, N Brex, J Sinzelle, M Ferte; P Garbisi (B Serin 57), B White (M Smaili. 64); J-B Gros (D Priso 43-53, L Ametlla 75), T Baubigny (J Toevalu, 75), K Sinckler (D Priso 53), D Ribbans, B Alainu’uese (C Mezou 53), L Ludlam, E Abadie, Z Mercer
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Scorers –
Edinburgh: Tries: Schoeman, Vellacott, Penalty Try, Venter; Con: Scott; Pen: Scott 2.
Toulon: Tries: White 2; Con: Jaminet 2; DG: Jaminet.
Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 0-3; 0-5; 0-10; 3-10; 8-10; 10-10; 10-15; 10-17; 15-17; 18-17 (h-t) 21-17; 21-20; 28-20, 33-20
Yellow cards –
Toulon: Ribands (57 minutes)
Attendance: 7,008