Cardiff Blues 25 - 8 Edinburgh: Bradley’s men suffer Heineken Cup disappointment in Wales

EDINBURGH succumbed to their first defeat of the Heineken Cup after their Cardiff curse struck again.

Having lost their previous five meetings against their counterparts from the Welsh capital, Michael Bradley’s side failed to find their feet in Cardiff. Lee Jones scored a try while Greig Laidlaw added a penalty, though that rarely looked enough to win what was a desperately disappointing game at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The loss will serve as a severe doss of reality for Bradley’s men having topped Pool Two following previous wins over London Irish and Racing-Metro.

However, of even greater concern will have been their inability to seize the initiative when a potentially crucial second victory on the road was there for the taking.

Victory here in Cardiff would have seen Edinburgh put one foot into the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time since 2004 yet they left empty handed after Alex Cuthbert’s late try finished any hopes of even the consolation of a losing bonus point.

With Scotland coach Andy Robinson watching from the stands after making the journey south, few managed to impress. Robinson will have plenty to mull over on his return, not least the form of Cardiff Blues fly-half Dan Parks.

On paper, his six kicks won the game for the Welsh but had it not been for his desperately limited display in every other aspect of the game, Cardiff would have won by much more.

Laidlaw was one of the few bright lights on an otherwise gloomy evening for Edinburgh. The captain threatened to orchestrate a revival in fortunes in the second half, after he was switched to outside-half. He was constantly alert to any opportunity and combined with the handling skills of Nick De Luca threatened to release Tim Visser at any moment.

Yet it was De Luca’s kicking ability that almost produced an unlikely opening score though the centre saw his snatched attempt at a drop goal crash against the upright. It may have been a valiant effort but in hindsight, the Scotland international may have considered alternative options outside him.

As though to hammer home the point, Cardiff fly-half Parks, so long Edinburgh’s nemesis during his Glasgow days, showed how it is done to make the most of his team’s first trespass into the visitor’s territory.

Jamie Roberts showed his prowess in attack, crashing headlong into Edinburgh’s defence that strained to contain the British Lions centre and former All Black Xavier Rush. They did enough to squeeze Cardiff into the narrow blindside channel, leaving Parks with little other option than to kick at goal with success. It was first blood to Cardiff, quite literally, as Geoff Cross was forced off the field following the melee for treatment to a head wound.

Edinburgh were bloodied but unbowed as Sean Cox pounced on an error from the re-start and pressure led to a penalty from which Laidlaw levelled the scores with ease.

Bradley had challenged his players to match the physicality of their opponents and against the Wales captain and emerging openside force Sam Warburton, Roddy Grant more than held his own. Combined with No8 Stuart McInally, the pair forced Warburton into conceding three penalties under the close eye of referee Wayne Barnes.

During an unconvincing first half, the brightest light for Edinburgh was their lineout where Coz and Esteban Lozada had a field day, picking off one throw after another. It was to their frustration that their team-mates could not capitalise during a stop-start half.

Parks scuffed a second drop goal attempt after another half-break by Roberts but, even before half-time, Bradley had seen enough. The Edinburgh coach was compelled to make a tactical change, switching Laidlaw to fly-half for Harry Leonard with the introduction of Mike Blair, though it was Parks who made the difference.

Cardiff’s outside-half kicked four penalties in the space of 15 minutes, spanning half-time, to leave Edinburgh trailing 15-3 after 54 minutes.

Ross Rennie stepped off the bench and immediately injected some much-needed direction and old-fashioned grunt to the Edinburgh pack that almost saw Jones score, if not for Visser’s fumble.

Edinburgh must have wondered whether the rugby gods were against them when a second potential scoring opportunity when the ball struck the referee’s leg, with Laidlaw ready to pounce.

Laidlaw grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, challenging the line and igniting Edinburgh’s strike runners with deft passes left and right.

Visser was the beneficiary and the powerful wing burst onto a pass before releasing Jones to touch down in the corner to re-awaken the tie at 15-8.

However Edinburgh waned and caved in under the burgeoning Blues pack. Cuthbert’s break led to Park’s second drop goal before the wing, who made his Test debut last weekend against Australia, finished a breakaway score to seal the win.

Scorers: Cardiff Blues: Tries: Cuthbert. Cons: Parks. Pens: Parks 4. Drop Goals: Parks 2. Edinburgh: Tries: Jones. Pens: Laidlaw.

Cardiff Blues: Halfpenny, Cuthbert, Laulala, Roberts, Czekaj, Parks, L. Williams, G. Jenkins, T. Thomas, Filise, B. Davies, Tito, Paterson, Warburton, Rush. Subs: Evans for Halfpenny (74), Yapp for G. Jenkins (74), Tyrell for T. Thomas (68), Andrews for Filise (62), Molitika for Tito (74), Navidi for Warburton (74). Not Used: Sweeney, Rees.

Edinburgh: Paterson, Jones, De Luca, King, Visser, Leonard, Laidlaw, Jacobsen, Ford, Cross, Cox, Lozada, Denton, Grant, McInally. Subs: T. Brown for Paterson (69), M. Blair for Leonard (36), S. Turnbull for Lozada (68), Rennie for McInally (51). Not Used: Houston, Lawrie, Traynor, Gilding.