Edinburgh 9 - 6 Bath: Fighting spirit lifts the chill

Published on Saturday 19 December 2009 20:48

EDINBURGH kept their European hopes alive with a gutsy win in dreadful conditions in front of a hardy crowd at Murrayfield. With the Stade Francais-Ulster game a casualty of yesterday's conditions, Edinburgh are level with those two clubs on nine points and the capital club could still qualify for the playoffs by winning their last two games and hoping that other results go their way.

"We're enjoying the win," said Rob Moffat in the aftermath, "we always enjoy the win. I think we controlled the game well in the second half. In the conditions we needed to keep the game simple. The conditions had a big effect on the game, for 20-25 minutes the conditions were extreme, it was a snow blizzard out there. I thought at one point that they wouldn't be able to see the lines (on the pitch] but it never got that bad."

Only the two best runners-up in the competition's six pools qualify for the quarter-finals. But Edinburgh will be aware that by becoming the third, fourth or fifth-best team to finish second would give them a parachute into the last eight of the second-tier European Challenge Cup. This victory can only help.

Creationists the world over should be made to watch this game because Edinburgh went some way to proving Charles Darwin's famous theory. The home side played far too much rugby in thick swirling snow and were desperately lucky to be level at half time. With the ball impossible to handle Edinburgh persisted in their running game when the conditions demanded one-pass rugby or a huge hoof downhill.

After some home truths from Moffat at the break, Edinburgh adapted much better to the winter wonderland that Murrayfield had become and thrived as a result. They kept the ball tight while Phil Godman and Chris Paterson plugged the corners and Edinburgh survived the miniature ice age far better than their opponents. As Bath coach Steve Meehan said with sarcasm: "I think Nikki Little felt right at home." Little is Fijian. The question remains as to why Moffat had to hammer home some obvious truths to players who should be thinking for themselves. "Sometimes you have to state the obvious," argued the coach. "It's an easy place to play the game where we are sitting (in the stand]. We made it pretty plain how we wanted to play the game (at half time]."

"I don't like to pick out individuals," Moffat continued, "but I thought that Greig Laidlaw played really well. He made some good decisions at the base of the scrum in the second half and he takes a bit of pressure off Phil Godman. As everyone knows, Phil is not the most natural kicker of the ball, he wants to run, he wants to play rugby and as far as I'm concerned that's a good because that's the only way you really develop as a team."

The coach highlighted Laidlaw's efforts but the real match-winner was elsewhere. Paterson has saved his club's hide more often than Batman has rescued Gotham City and again the classy full-back was the difference between the two teams. His kicking from hand kept Bath at arms length throughout this contest and his three penalties from three attempts illustrated a killer instinct that the visitors badly lacked. Over the 80 minutes, Edinburgh kicked three from four – Godman missed one late on – while Bath kicked two from six.

For the second week in succession, the English club dominated the first half and should have been out of sight by half time. Just when they needed him to step up to the mark, Little managed just two penalties from four attempts. Skipper Michael Claassens ruined another opportunity by taking a quick tap penalty from well within Little's range, and Nick Abendenon had a drop goal charged down.

Paterson kicked two penalties in the first half and the match was tied at 6-6 at the break. The same player added the winner on 62 minutes, the only points of the second half, after England veteran Danny Grewcock played the ball from an offside position. The lock had only just entered the action.

Still the home team had to endure a few nerve-racking moments when Bath were awarded two late penalties in the space of two minutes. Substitute fly-half Ryan Davies was well wide with a tricky attempt from the right hand touch line on 68 minutes and then Jack Cuthbert, a star of the Scotland U19 squad a few years back, lined up a 48 metre attempt. At 6' 5" the big full-back had the power and more than enough distance but pulled the kick wide to the left so the crowd was able to breath again.

Edinburgh were just about good for the win thanks to a second-half resurgence but in truth they won't play this badly and come away with too many wins. The scrum creaked ominously in the first half although it improved with the introduction of Allan Jacobsen early in the second half. Several times No.8 Scott Newland made a guddle of things at the base of the scrum but it wasn't always his fault since the ground was shifting under his feet.

The lineout hiccuped throughout the match. Edinburgh lost at least three of their own throws, two of which were well inside the Bath 22, and they flapped at several others leaving Laidlaw to clear up the mess. Bath had the smart solution of throwing the ball in squint and there was a huge cheer from the home crowd when the French referee finally blew them for it late on in the game.

Apart from the win, Edinburgh also had the satisfaction of seeing Ross Rennie come through his first game for the club in almost a year. Rennie has been out of the action for most of the past two years and the tearaway flanker showed signs of his old aggression and aptitude for the game. In one cameo he tackled a Bath player, ripping the ball at the same time before getting penalised for rolling offside. You can't keep a good man down and Rennie is among the best, provided his troublesome knee can hold up. At least he didn't have far to go for an ice pack yesterday afternoon.

Edinburgh: C Paterson; J Houston, B Cairns (M Robertson 32 min) N De Luca (J Thompson), T Visser; P Godman, G Laidlaw; K Traynor (A Jacobsen 49 min), R Ford, G Cross, S Turnbull, C Hamilton (F McKenzie 62 min), A MacDonald, R Rennie (D Callam 62 min), S Newlands.

Bath: N Abendanon (J Cuthbert 65 min); M Stephenson, M Carraro, S Hape, T Cheeseman; N Little (R Davies 65 min), M Claassens; D Flatman, P Dixon, D Wilson (D Bell 59 min), S Hooper, P Short, A Beattie (D Grewcock 59 min), J Salvi, L Watson.

Scorers: Edinburgh – Pens: Paterson (3). Bath – Pens: Little (2).

Referee: R Poite (FFR).