Edinburgh clinched a dramatic 18-17 win to end the Glasgow Warriors’ perfect run in the Pro14, while Connacht downed Ulster and Treviso beat Zebre.
The heated Scottish derby, which doubled up as the first of three 1872 Cup fixtures between the sides, made for enthralling viewing from start to finish.
The Glasgow Warriors came into this encounter with a perfect record of 10 wins from as many games. Courtesy of that winning run, they have a 13-point lead at the top of the Conference A table. Edinburgh on the other hand, have lost four league matches and are fourth on the Conference B log.
The Warriors made a perfect start to the game when centre Huw Jones scored in the second minute in his Pro14 debut. Things went from bad to worse for Edinburgh when Simon Berghan received a red card in the fifth minute. But being forced to play with 14 men for 75 minutes seemed to galvanise the hosts.
Scrumhalf Hidalgo Clyne nailed a penalty as Edinburgh cut the Warriors’ lead to 7-3 at half-time.
The kickers traded penalties early in the second half, before things got interesting. Edinburgh’s defence couldn’t prevent the Warriors from scoring, but their attack matched Glasgow’s all the way. When the visitors scored a second try, Edinburgh responded immediately through Nathan Fowles, keeping the difference to four points.
Then, in the 78th minute, the hosts launched one last attack from a lineout close to the tryline. With the referee calling an advantage for Edinburgh following a solid driving maul, the Glasgow players inexcusably stopped playing, thinking the whistle had gone for a penalty. Spotting the lapse in concentration, Edinburgh’s Chris Dean broke away from the maul and scored the winning try in the corner.
In the other results, Connacht hammered their Irish rivals Ulster 44-16 and Treviso came out 27-14 victors in their all-Italian clash against Zebre.
Round 11 results:
Edinburgh 18 Glasgow Warriors 17
Connacht 44 Ulster 16
Trevis 27 Zebre 14
Photo: www.pro14rugby.org
