It may be the semi-final weekend of the Rugby World Cup and with England securing their spot in the final with a superb display against the All Blacks, Wales have their opportunity tomorrow…but first the Scarlets travelled to Murrayfield in search of their first PRO14 win away against Edinburgh for six years.
Ioan Nicholas made his first start of the season in the Centre in place of Paul Asquith who suffered a facial injury against Zebre. Also ruled out due to a shoulder injury was Lewis Rawlins – he was replaced by Steve Cummins, whilst Steff Evans was forced to withdraw due to illness and was replaced on the Wing by Tom James.
It was Edinburgh’s Van de Merwe that offered the first attacking spark of the game as he raced down the touchline before being bundled into touch by Dan Jones. The hosts continued their attack before Duhan Van de Merwe crossed in the corner for the opening try. Simon Hickey was wide with his conversion attempt as the hosts gained an early 5 points to 0 lead.
The Scots continued their attack from the re-start leaving the Scarlets’ defence struggling before Van de Merwe touched down under the posts for his second try of the evening with less than 10 minutes on the clock. Hickey slotted over the simple conversion to increase Edinburgh’s lead to 12 points to 0.
The Scarlets eventually found themselves deep in the Edinburgh 22 following a chip from Johnny McNicholl, but Edinburgh managed to get back and played from deep to alleviate the danger.
Van de Merwe came close to scoring his third but McNicholl was back to clear. However, the hosts set up a drive after securing the line-out and Hooker, Mike Willemse powered over from close range for Edinburgh’s third try. Hickey again added the extras to give the Scots a commanding 19 points to 0 lead.
The Scarlets finally crossed for a try with Taylor Davies off-loading to Kieran Hardy who raced over for the try, however, referee Frank Murphy decided to check the score with the TMO and despite it appearing flat, a forward pass was declared, and the try chalked off.
Edinburgh secured the try bonus point with a series of forward passes in the build-up to Mark Bennett crossing under the posts. Despite this, the try was allowed without any checking from the TMO and Hickey slotted over the simple conversion to extend the hosts’ lead to 26 points to 0.
The Scarlets did have an opportunity for points on the board right at the end of the first half, with McKenzie shown a yellow card for foul play, but despite securing the line-out and setting up a drive, the ball was ripped and kicked off the park for the end of the half.
Despite a more positive start from the visitors, the Scarlets were unable to take any advantage of their extra man and it was the Scots that got the first score of the second half with Hickey slotting over a simple penalty to increase Edinburgh’s lead to 29 points to 0.
The Scarlets finally found themselves in a promising attacking position, with the penalties mounting up against the Scots in the red zone. They recycled the ball well before replacement Hooker, Marc Jones picked up and drove over for the try. Dan Jones added the conversion to give a score-line of 29 points to 7.
A penalty at the line-out offered Edinburgh the opportunity to further extend their lead as they set up a rolling maul and again it was Mike Willemse who broke off to cross for the try. Replacement Van Der Walt was wide with his conversion attempt as the hosts’ increased their lead to 34 points to 7.
With just 5 minutes left on the clock, Van Der Merwe raced over for his hat-trick, dotting down in the corner. A superb kick from Van Der Walt added the extras as the Scottish nightmare continued for the men in Scarlet with the scoreboard reading, 41 points to 7.
But the hosts hadn’t quite finished scoring as Eroni Sau dived over in the dying minutes for a try on his debut. Van Der Walt was wide with his conversion, the last kick of the game, but it was a comprehensive win for Edinburgh by 46 points to 7.
Next Saturday, the Scarlets will aim to get back on track in Parc y Scarlets where they welcome the Cheetahs who were cruelly denied as Connacht secured a last-gasp victory at the Sportsground. Kick-off is at 3.00pm.
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