Edinburgh put half-century on Benetton
MATCH REPORT: Edinburgh put in a dominant display to down Benetton in a high-scoring affair in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Edinburgh got on the board early through a try by Duhan van der Merwe in the opening minute of the clash.
Benetton’s ill-discipline cost them dearly as well as their sloppy moments on defence when loose forward Ben Muncaster broke through two attempted tackles for the hosts’ second try in the 14th minute.
It didn’t take long for the home side to cross the whitewash again as they went in five minutes later when Magnus Bradbury dotted down in the 19th minute to send Edinburgh 19-0 up.
A misfiring lineout by Benetton inside their own 22-metre area gifted Edinburgh more attacking opportunities and they ensured they capitalised as Bradbury scooped possession to grab a beace and seal the four-try bonus-point four minutes later.
The bleeding didn’t stop there in the first-half as Benetton struggled to get over the advantage line on attack and lost possession which set prop Paul Hill up for Edinburgh’s fifth.
All tries scored in the first-half were converted by flyhalf Ross Thompson.
The second-half saw Los Pumas veteran Agustin Creevy make his Benetton debut and Benetton’s comeback started.
The visitors immediately out the ball through the hands and went wide with Rhyno Smith setting Paolo Odogwu up for an unconverted try in the corner.
Creevy didn’t wait long to make an impact for his new side when Benetton found themselves close to the Edinburgh line and after multiple phases of pick-and-go’s the Argentine hooker got over the line for Benetton’s second which Umaga converted.
The hooker didn’t stop there as creevy bagged a brace on his debut to bring Benetton back within a chance for a comeback as Umaga split the uprights with the conversion.
Edinburgh struck back with their first score of the second stanza as Edimurgo and Graham combined to set Ali Price up for the score that took it to 40-19.
Benetton, however got one back from close range as Alessandro Izekor barged over the line for a converted try.
Former All Black and current Tonga international Malakai Fekitoa after a good passage of play with ball-in-hand crossed the whitewash to get Benetton back within striking distance as Edinburgh’s lead got cut to 40-33 after Umaga’s conversion.
The hosts responded to erase any doubt when Muncaster bagged a brace which Ben Healy converted, with the replacement slotting a penalty in the final stages of the game to put the half-century on the scoreboard for an emphatic Edinburgh victory.
The scorers
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Hill, Price, Muncaster 2, Bradbury 2
Cons: Healy, Thompson 5
Pen: Healy
For Benetton:
Tries: Odogwu, Izekor, Fekitoa, Creevy 2
Cons: Umaga 4
Yellow card: Malakai Fekitoa (Benetton,80′)
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Mosese Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Ali Price, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Ben Muncaster, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist (captain), 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Boan Venter, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Ross McCann.
Benetton: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Ignacio Mendy, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Paolo Odogwu, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Riccardo Favretto, 7 Toa Halafihi, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman (captain), 4 Scott Scrafton, 3 Enzo Avaca, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Jadin Kingi, 20 Simon Koroiyadi, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Leonardo Marin, 23 Louis Lynagh.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
Assistant referees: Jonny Perriam (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (Wales)
