Edinburgh puts away 14-man Zebre
MATCH REPORT: Edinburgh were 38-19 victors over Zebre in Parma on Saturday, but faced a stern second-half test from their hosts despite MJ Pelser’s first-half red card.
Mike Blair’s men ran in three tries before the hosts had Pelser sent off just 23 minutes into the match and led 31-0 early in the second half.
However, Zebre rallied despite their numerical disadvantage, with Alessandro Fusco, Luca Rizzoli and Jacopo Trulla all going over after the break.
Adam McBurney had touched down twice and Jamie Hodgson and Wes Goosen also crossed as Edinburgh bagged a bonus point before half-time, with Henry Immelman and Matt Currie going over in the second half.
Edinburgh scored the opening try in the seventh minute when hooker McBurney picked up the ball and darted for the line.
Emiliano Boffelli added the extras before McBurney was held up as he came agonisingly close to a second try five minutes after his first.
McBurney’s close call had come from a line-out drive and a similar move soon after led to Hodgson burrowing over, with Boffelli sending his conversion attempt wide.
The Argentina international rediscovered his range after Edinburgh spread the ball out to the left wing for debutant Goosen to go over, and things went from bad to worse for Zebre when Pelser saw red for a dangerous clearout on Nick Haining.
McBurney wrapped up the bonus point from a driving maul in the 26th minute, with Boffelli’s conversion making it 26-0.
Boffelli was then sin-binned following an offside offence in the closing moments of the half as Zebre enjoyed their best period of the match to that point, but Pierre Bruno spilt the ball forwards in the act of scoring as a golden opportunity went begging.
Immelman collected Currie’s looping pass to touch down within two minutes of the second half getting underway. Jaco Van Der Walt – kicking in Boffelli’s absence – struck a post from the tee.
Fusco had a try disallowed for a forward pass in the build-up, but a quickly taken penalty soon after saw the scrumhalf belatedly get his side off the mark.
Tiff Eden was wayward with the conversion, but a Rizzoli try – converted by replacement Geronimo Prisciantelli – showed the hosts would not lie down.
Currie crossed to give Edinburgh more of a cushion, but it was Zebre who edged the second-half scoring after Trulla added his name to the scoresheet.
Replacement Charlie Savala and Prisciantelli converted the two late tries respectively.
Player of the Match
It was a memorable day for Bill Mata. Not only did he rack up his 100th Edinburgh appearance on his birthday, but he was also crowned Player of the Match. It was just reward for an industrious display from the centurion.
Play of the match
There were a couple of contenders, but Trulla’s late try was one of the most eye-catching of the afternoon. Fusco collected a grubber kick before sending a long pass out to the left wing for Trulla to sprint for the line.
The scorers
For Zebre
Tries: Fusco, Rizzoli, Trulla
Cons: Prisciantelli 2
For Edinburgh
Tries: McBurney 2, Hodgson, Goosen, Immelman, Currie
Cons: Boffelli 3, Savala
Red card: MJ Pelser (Zebre, 23)
Yellow card: Emiliano Boffelli (Edinburgh, 40)
Teams
Zebre: 15 Lorenzo Pani, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Jacopo Trulla, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Taina Fox-Matamua, 7 MJ Pelser, 6 Luca Andreani, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 David Sisi (captain), 3 Ion Neculai, 2 Marco Manfredi, 1 Juan Pitinari.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Luca Rizzoli, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Andrea Zambonin, 20 Gabriele Venditti, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 23 Richard Kriel.
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Chris Dean, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Charlie Shiel, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie (captain), 6 Nick Haining, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Jamie Hodgson, 3 Luan de Bruin, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Angus Williams, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Ben Muncaster, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Damien Hoyland.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant referees: Manuel Bottino (Italy), Alberto Favaro (Italy)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
