Godman drop-goal sinks Racing

Phil Godman kicked a last minute drop-goal for Edinburgh to clinch a 27-24 victory over Racing Metro and keep them at the helm of Pool 2 in the Heineken Cup.

In a delicately poised group Edinburgh grabbed their second victory on the road in this year’s tournament to keep the pressure up on Cardiff Blues as they hunt for their first quarterfinal spot in eight years.

The visitors had led for the majority of the game only to be pegged back after each time of taking the advantage.And just as the game looked destined for a draw, three tries apiece, Godman struck to clinch only their second victory on French soil.

Both sides battled for early dominance but neither could find their early rhythm and Juan Martin Hernandez and Greg Laidlaw’s early missed shots at goal kept the game scoreless.

Chabal’s powerful early breaks provided some spark but the game really kicked into gear when Ross Rennie crossed for the opening score. Quick ball from the base Mike Blair initiated things and Rennie was then fed in midfield and he didn’t need a second invitation to barge through the weak defence to run in under the posts for a converted score.

Tackling in the midfield was again questionable for Racing’s opening try.Edinburgh had repelled their hosts repeated efforts well until Fabrice Estebanez created a hole in midfield and offloaded to Francois Steyn who dived over.Hernandez had no problems with his second shot at goal, leveling the scores with the conversion.

After the clear determination to respond immediately Racing seemed to take their foot off the gas and with Edinburgh in confident mood there was only ever one who were going to score next.

A quick attack down the blindside set up field position and then Edinburgh bided their time before Netani Talei broke through and the stretched over the line to grab a second try for Scots. Captain Laidlaw added the conversion to give his side a healthy advantage at the break.

With Cardiff Blues not playing until Saturday this was an ideal opportunity for Edinburgh to lay down a marker after the break but their lead lasted just two second half minutes. Juan Imhoff made a mockery of the covering defence, firstly out sprinting them down the blindside before rounding Chris Paterson with ease to level the score.

Rather than consolidate after scoring, Racing immediately started looking for their next score and switched off in defence. This allowed David Denton to sprint clear, galloping to the line for the game’s fifth try. The flank’s touchdown completed a try apiece for the visiting back-row but Racing wanted the next score and they got it again with resistance.

Whilst both sides offered flair to entertain on a cold Parisian night, defence wasn’t a priority. And bringing the memories flooding back from Murrayfield, the game was soon rewarded with its sixth try as Antoine Battut touchdown after an attack that always looked destined to end with try. Hernandez again leveled things, this time from the touchline before making way for Jonathan Wisniewski.

Wisniewski missed the chance to edge his side in front just minutes after coming on with a long range kick drifting wide, but the flyhalf had no problem with his second effort sailing over.

Laidlaw responded with three points of his own two minutes later and then Godman struck just before the final whistle dropping Edinburgh to victory.

The scorers:

For Racing:
Tries: Steyn, Imhoff, Battut
Cons: Hernandez 3
Pen: Wisniewski 

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Rennie, Talei, Dentom
Cons: Laidlaw 3
Pen: Laidlaw
DGs: Godman

The teams:

Racing Metro: 15 Juan Imhoff, 14 Virimi Vakatawa, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Julien Saubade, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Sebastien Descons, 8 Sebastien Chabal, 7 Antoine Batut, 6 John Leo’o, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 2 Gregory Arganese, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Bianchin, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Benjamin Sa, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Mathieu Loree, 21 Jonathan Wisniewski, 22 Remi Vaquiin, 23 Henry Chavancy.

Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Netani Talei 7 Ross Rennie 6 David Denton 5 Sean Cox 4 Grant Gilchrist 3 Geoff Cross 2 Ross Ford 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Alun Walker, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Esteban Lozada, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Tom Brown, 23 Jim Thompson.