Edinburgh secure losing bonus point at Saracens despite being reduced to 13 men

Damien Hoyland produced a brilliant interception for Edinburgh against Saracens but was just stopped short. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

One year after they defeated Saracens on their own patch in the Challenge Cup, Edinburgh just fell short in their bid to repeat the feat in Europe’s elite competition.

They produced a gutsy performance and led 16-12 at the break but squandered a glorious opportunity to regain the lead going into the final quarter through first Damien Hoyland and then James Lang before eventually losing 30-26. Edinburgh went down to 13 men at one point near the end, losing both Stuart McInally and WP Nel to the sin-bin, but in between the two yellow cards they conjured up a late try through Wes Goosen for a losing bonus point which might yet be crucial in the final analysis.

Edinburgh were outscored by four tries to two but were always a threat. Jamie Ritchie led from the front and was ably assisted by Luke Crosbie. There were flaws too, most notably at the set-piece. Their scrum creaked in the first half and the lineout disintegrated in the second and the latter was particularly damaging for the away side. McInally struggled with his throwing and will not look back at this match with much fondness.

It’s over 1000 days since Saracens played in the Champions Cup and they were keen to get back into the groove as quickly as possible. Sean Maitland, discarded by Scotland, is still a key man for Sarries and he ran deep into Edinburgh territory from kick-off. He was stopped short and Ben Vellacott box-kicked the danger away as the visiting supporters held their breath. It was an important mini-battle for Edinburgh to win and they reaped the benefits with the opening try.

Vellacott was involved again, popping the ball up for Duhan van der Merwe on the blindside. The winger won a penalty and Edinburgh kicked to the corner, an early sign of their intent. Ritchie won the lineout and McInally was held up before Luan de Bruin forced his way over. Emiliano Boffelli, immaculate with the boot throughout, converted with ease.

Edinburgh must have been dreaming of another win at the StoneX Stadium but Saracens soon snapped them out of it, with Owen Farrell the architect. The stand-off’s cross kick was perfectly measured and Elliot Daly collected and stepped inside van der Merwe in one movement to leave the Edinburgh winger flailing. Farrell added the extras.

The England fly-half was less accurate with his next effort, missing with a 44-metre penalty after de Bruin had been pulled up. The Edinburgh prop was having a torrid time in the scrum and referee Nika Amashukeli had a quiet word with Ritchie. It didn’t take Mike Blair long to read the signs and he replaced de Bruin with Nel ahead of the next scrum. By that point Edinburgh had regained the lead through Boffell’s penalty and the returning Argentine added another seven minutes later to nudge Blair’s side 13-7 ahead.

Edinburgh had been sloppy in dealing with the restart from Boffelli’s first penalty and it got worse after the second. Grant Gilchrist gave away a cheap penalty which Farrell kicked to the corner. Saracens produced the textbook lineout maul and Ben Earl was shoved over for the try.

Callum Hunter-Hill of Saracens was upended in a tackle by WP Nel which resulted in a yellow card for the Edinburgh prop. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Fortunately for Edinburgh, Farrell didn’t have his kicking boots on, unlike Boffelli. While the Saracens 10 missed with the conversion attempt, Edinburgh’s full-back managed to land a penalty just before half-time to put the visitors 16-12 ahead at the break.

Saracens are nine from nine in the Premiership this season and you suspect some strong words were spoken in the dressing room. They certainly didn’t take long to regain the lead with their third try. Daly was the creator this time, spotting a gap in the Edinburgh backline and poking through a clever kick for Alex Lewington to collect and score.

Farrell’s third missed kick in a row meant Edinburgh were only a point behind and when Boffelli landed his fourth penalty seven minutes later they regained the lead. But Farrell isn’t a man who lets setbacks cloud his judgment and he bounced back admirably with two penalties in two minutes to put Saracens 23-19 as the game entered the final quarter.

Edinburgh were still very much in it and a huge turning point came on the 63rd minute. Hoyland, a 40th-minute replacement for head-knock victim Mark Bennett, intercepted a Farrell pass in his own half and charged for the line. The winger, making his 100th appearance for Edinburgh, looked like he was going to make it but just ran out of steam and was forced to cut back inside. Edinburgh quickly recycled and fired it out to the other wing. A long, looping pass found Lang and the centre crossed the line but was held up when the pass to Boffelli outside him was a better option.

Player of the match Elliot Daly gets away from Duhan van der Merwe to score Saracens' first try against Edinburgh at StoneX Stadium. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

The chance was gone and Saracens inevitably made Edinburgh pay. Tom Woolstencroft, their replacement hooker, got the bonus-point try after the hosts capitalised on McInally’s lineout woes, collecting his misjudged throw. Farrell converted to make it 30-19 and McInally’s misery was compounded with a yellow card for an accumulation of team offences as the visitors tried to defend their line.

Edinburgh had been in touching distance throughout but suddenly found themselves down to 14 men and trailing by 11 points with ten minutes remaining. Remarkably, they then scored the try that sealed the losing bonus point, Goosen touching down after fine play by Blair Kinghorn, who spotted a gap and stepped his way through. It was great riposte from the Scottish team and Boffelli’s conversion reduced Sarries’ lead to four points.

Edinburgh were then reduced to 13 men when Nel was yellow-carded for upending fellow Scotland squad member Callum Hunter-Hill with four minutes remaining. The visitors had lost two-thirds of their front row to the sin-bin and Ritchie was having to take the lineouts but they continued to press, ending the game on the attack, if not in the lead.

Scorers: Saracens: Tries: Daly, Earl, Lewington, Woolstencroft. Cons: Farrell 2. Pens: Farrell 2.

Edinburgh: Tries: de Bruin, Goosen. Cons: Boffelli 2. Pens: Boffelli 4.

Saracens: E Daly; A Lewington, A Lozowski (A Goode 61), N Tompkins, S Maitland; O Farrell, I van Zyl (A Davies 73); Mako Vunipola (E Mawi 64), J George (T Woolstencroft 64), M Riccioni (A Clarey 73), M Itoje, H Tizard (C Hunter-Hill 64), T McFarland (A Christie 53), B Earl, Billy Vunipola (J Wray 73).

Edinburgh: E Boffelli; W Goosen, M Bennett (D Hoyland 36), J Lang, D van der Merwe; B Kinghorn, B Vellacott (C Shiel 61); P Schoeman (B Venter 58), S McInally, L de Bruin (WP Nel 32), J Hodgson (M Sykes 46), G Gilchrist, J Ritchie, L Crosbie (B Muncaster 73), V Mata.

Replacements not used: P Harrison, C Savala.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).