Graham double seals Edinburgh win

MATCH REPORT: Darcy Graham scored two tries as Edinburgh coasted a comfortable 45-21 United Rugby Championship victory over Ospreys.

Five first-half tries ensured the game was over as a contest by the half-time break, and although the second 40 was more even, the Scots were in no mood to let the game out of their grasp.

Edinburgh took a fifth-minute lead when Ben Vellacott intercepted an Owen Williams pass just inside the Ospreys half and ran in unopposed.

That score injected a massive dose of confidence into a home side that had been desperately short of that quality in recent months, and within minutes they scored again.

A more orthodox attack set up the platform this time, with Jamie Ritchie and Darcy Graham among those combining well wide out on the right before Dave Cherry was on hand to finish off from close range.

Ospreys had not had an attack worthy of the name up to that point, but that changed after Luke Morgan was tackled into touch by Blair Kinghorn close to the home five-metre line.

Edinburgh lost their line-out, and after a couple of assaults on the goal line were rebuffed, Dewi Lake made sure from three metres out and Owen Williams converted.

Edinburgh hit back and got their third try just past the quarter-hour mark. Sam Skinner finished off this time, with Hamish Watson providing the assist.

The home support was on their feet again minutes later when Emiliano Boffelli got the bonus-point try after intercepting a wide pass inside his own 10-metre line.

Skinner was then shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Rhys Davies, but Ospreys were unable to make their numerical advantage count.

Minutes before the break, Davies himself was sent to the sin bin for going in late and high on Graham.

Then, in the last move of the half, Watson got Edinburgh’s fifth: Kinghorn sent a penalty to touch, the maul functioned smoothly this time, and the Scotland openside finished off, with Boffelli’s conversion taking the score to 35-7.

With Davies back on, Ospreys scored first in the second half, Lake finishing off a line-out drive and Owen Williams converting.

Morgan Morris became the third player of the night to be carded as the referee grew tired of his team’s offending.

With the Ospreys’ defence both down a man and beginning to feel the pace, Graham got the score he had long been threatening to take, bouncing out of a couple of tackles on his way to touching down wide out on the right.

Graham grabbed a second inside the final 10 minutes by winning the race for a chip ahead by Boffelli before Sam Parry scored a late consolation for Ospreys.

Player of the Match

Edinburgh wing Darcy Graham had been quiet by his own high standards since returning from injury a couple of weeks ago, but he was back to his hungry best in this game, running in a couple of tries and threatening the Ospreys defence every time he had the ball.

Play of the Match

Edinburgh’s second try, scored by hooker Dave Cherry, was a combination of speed, patient probing and blunt force. Darcy Graham provided the speed, linking up well with Jamie Ritchie, among others, on the right. Then play moved infield, where Blair Kinghorn cleverly offloaded to Cherry, who finished off from close range.

The scorers

For Edinburgh
Tries: Vellacott, Cherry, Skinner, Boffelli, Watson, Graham 2
Cons: Boffelli 4, Skinner

For Ospreys
Tries: Lake 2, Parry
Cons: Williams 2, Anscombe

Yellow cards: Sam Skinner (Edinburgh, 22), Rhys Davies (Ospreys, 37), Morgan Morris (Ospreys, 53),

Teams:

Edinburgh: 15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 James Lang, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie (captain), 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Jamie Hodgson, 20 Connor Boyle, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Chris Dean, 23 Duhan van der Merwe.

Ospreys: 15 Iestyn Hopkins, 14 George North, 13 Michael Collins, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Dan Lydiate (captain), 6 Rhys Davies, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Ethan Roots, 21 Reuben Morgan-Wiliams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Max Nagy.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Fin Brown (Scotland), Ru Campbell (Scotland)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)