Originally posted by BBC@Dec 26 2005, 18:23
Edinburgh got their Celtic League ***le challenge back on track with a fine win over the Border Reivers at Murrayfield.
Marcus Di Rollo crossed the line for the home side after 33 minutes but Opeta Palepoi replied immediately.
Ally Hogg and Peter Jorgensen added further tries for Edinburgh before Borders' Charlie Hore benefited from a kindly bounce off the posts.
Ally Kellock spiralled over to secure a bonus point before Chris Cusiter nipped over for a late try for the visitors.
Edinburgh had looked the hungrier outfit during the scrappy opening stages but their promising build-up work was spoiled by carelessness.
Hore edged the visitors in front with a straightforward penalty for offside after a period of sustained pressure from the home side.
The capital men claimed the first try of the contest when Scott Murray and Jorgensen combined in slick fashion to feed Di Rollo on the right wing.
Di Rollo turned on the pace to outstrip his markers and cruised to the line from 30 metres.
It took the Reivers less than three minutes to strike back. An initial penalty came to nothing, but a fluffed clearance by Phil Godman handed them a second chance to power into the danger zone with a rolling maul.
Edinburgh's pack could not contain the momentum and Samoan lock Palepoi plunged over for the touchdown. C
Chris Paterson and Hore were wide with the respective conversion attempts.
There was a further double setback for the hosts just before the interval when winger Simon Webster and prop Allan Jacobsen hobbled off to be replaced by Francisco Leonelli and Al Dickinson.
Their departure was soon forgotten as the Gunners surged ahead just three minutes after the restart.
Paterson was off the mark with a penalty, however Hore spilled the ball adjacent to his own posts.
And from the scrum, Hogg shrugged off two challenges to plough his way to the line - Paterson finding his range to add the conversion.
Hore repaired some of the damage by slotting his second penalty, but Edinburgh snatched back the momentum with another great touchdown from Jorgensen.
Again Paterson banged over the kick to give his side useful breathing space going into the final stages.
He boosted them further with a straightforward penalty, only to see the Reivers burst back into the picture with a freak score.
Gregor Townsend's deft chip seemed to be covered by the home defence, but when the ball rebounded from the post they were completely wrong-footed and Hore gleefully scooped it up to put it down and give himself a formality of a conversion.
Paterson eased the jitters at the other end with his second penalty - then Kellock made sure of the all-important bonus point.
However, Reivers refused to buckle and they salvaged a consolation point when Cusiter claimed a last-gasp try, goaled by Hore.
Edinburgh: H Southwell, C Paterson (Capt), M Di Rollo, P Jorgensen, S Webster, P Godman, M Blair, A Jacobsen, D Hall, C Smith, A Kellock, S Murray, A Hogg, S Taylor, S Cross
Replacements: A Kelly, D Hewett, A Strokosch, A MacDonald, R Lawson, M Dey, F Leonelli
Borders: S Moffat, S Danielli, B MacDougall, C Hore, N Walker, G Townsend, C Cusiter, P Thomson (Capt), R Ford, B Douglas, S MacLeod, O Palepoi, K Brown, S Sititi, S Gray.
Replacements: T McGee, S Scott, C Stewart, A Miller, B McKerchar, A Rennick, C MacRae.
Cross-Channel battles put drool factor into European Cup
Thomas Castaignède
Monday January 9, 2006
The Guardian
To feel the true magic of the European Cup you have only to look at this weekend's three biggest games, the cross-Channel matches featuring top sides from the English Premiership and the French top 14. It's not only the line-ups - Bath, Leicester, Stade Français, Bourgoin, Toulouse, Wasps - which make your mouth water but the fact that the games will go a long way towards deciding the final shape of the three pools involved.
Bath are well set after a perfect start and if they win in Bourgoin they will qualify, but they know that nothing should be taken for granted after the way that Leinster sneaked past them with two late tries a year ago. And travelling to Bourgoin is not for the faint-hearted. The French club are unbeaten at home in the league since 2002 and it's one of the coldest bits of France - ski jacket and thermal gloves are recommended.
They are only a small town, and they were a huge disappointment last year in the European Cup, but this year they have already beaten Leinster at home. They have a massive pack of forwards, with internationals such as Pascal Pape at lock, Olivier Milloud in the front row and Julien Bonnaire in the back row, and, though their backs are not household names, Alexandre Péclier is one of the best kickers in France's Championnat.
As for Leicester against Stade Français, we can expect something better than the scrappy fare these two giants served up when they met in the autumn. Stade have improved in the past few weeks as players have returned from the injury crisis that hit at the start of the season, with key guys such as Juan Hernández and Ignacio Corleto coming back. Their fly-half David Skrela is also back, although it's not clear whether he or the 36-year-old veteran Alain Penaud will start at Welford Road, but what's certain is that their pack is massive and, having won there in January 2004 as Dean Richards' reign came to a close, the East Midlands hold no fears for them.
Back then Leicester greats such as Martin Johnson and Neil Back were still playing. The Tigers now have plenty of absentees, such as Daryl Gibson, Lewis Moody and the Tuilagi brothers. Moreover Stade know that, being a point ahead of Leicester, they will have a good chance of qualifying even if they lose, so they will not be much affected by pressure.
I'd still wonder about the chances of a surprise at Toulouse. The form book - and history - says that winning at Stade Ernest Wallon is an astonishing feat, but Wasps have not completely burned their bridges so far as qualifying goes. The High Wycombe team don't have the strongest front five but if they can get the ball the backs are as good as you will see. The Wasps pack gave Toulouse a difficult time when the sides met in Buckinghamshire in the autumn. It was a game the English side could have won rather than drawn, had they opted not to kick for goal with their last play.
If you are wondering how seriously Toulouse are taking their visitors, bear this in mind: they rested Frédéric Michalak over the weekend to keep him fresh. They have a fair number of injuries - Finau Maka and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde have been the main absentees - but the truly intimidating thing about Toulouse is that the stand-ins are bound to be just as redoubtable.
I'm expecting three French victories out of three this weekend, if the form book is anything to go by. That's not chauvinism, because I have nothing against these English sides. That's just my feeling.
It would be silly to see a side like Wasps disappear owing primarily to the fact that they've been drawn in a "pool of death", but they probably sealed their own fate by failing to put Toulouse away at home and slipping up in Edinburgh.
At Saracens we will get a flavour of the same magic and the same pressure in 10 days' time when we travel to Biarritz for what should be the decisive game in our pool. It's all or nothing for us: win and we can probably qualify, but if we lose we will be eliminated for sure. That is what Europe is all about: travel and seize your chance or say au revoir.[/b]
Fair enough. We got the rub of the green in some potentially pivotal positions, but we had your front row in all sorts of trouble for the full 80 and rarely got the decision. Either way, doesn't matter now.Originally posted by An Tarbh@Jan 14 2006, 09:38 AM
Well if we qualify and face Bath again in the quarters that wouldn't be the end of the world, afterall we would have won the pool match there so it wouldn't hold too many fears for the players.
If not Bath then one of Toulouse, Munster or Sale, ouch. Munster at home in Europe are unbeatable, I'd be amazed if Munster allowed such a match to be played at Lansdowne, Toulouse at home again is a mamoth task, as would Sale away with the form they've shown this season.
Fair play to Bath for getting through, albeit with the help of Shitehouse in the RDS, sorry can't let that one go.
Commentary team on BBC didn't sound overly convinced of Barkley playing at 10, although he's been playing in the centre hasn't he?Originally posted by Boy+Jan 13 2006, 11:28 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Boy @ Jan 13 2006, 11:28 PM)</div><!--QuoteBegin-An TarbhFair enough. We got the rub of the green in some potentially pivotal positions, but we had your front row in all sorts of trouble for the full 80 and rarely got the decision. Either way, doesn't matter now.@Jan 14 2006, 09:38 AM
Well if we qualify and face Bath again in the quarters that wouldn't be the end of the world, afterall we would have won the pool match there so it wouldn't hold too many fears for the players.
If not Bath then one of Toulouse, Munster or Sale, ouch. Munster at home in Europe are unbeatable, I'd be amazed if Munster allowed such a match to be played at Lansdowne, Toulouse at home again is a mamoth task, as would Sale away with the form they've shown this season.
Fair play to Bath for getting through, albeit with the help of Shitehouse in the RDS, sorry can't let that one go.
It'll be interesting to see if tonight was just a flash in the pan, or it Ashton is actually doing something decent. I expect most people will see Bath as the weakest team in the quarters. We just can't let it go to waste like a few seasons ago when we qualified as top seeds only to get turned over by Llanelli at home in the quarters. [/b]
Dude, I know you didn't see it, but Molly passing the ball between his legs straight to Cheese was awesome, admittedly we were a few points up by then and it was into injury time, but still!Originally posted by Boy@Jan 14 2006, 10:50 AM
I prefer him at 10
