It’s a rare thing for me to watch a home Edinburgh match on TV rather than live at the Hive but this was the position I found myself in on Friday after struggling with a migraine all week. I hoped, more than anything, that it would be a good match to boost my spirits and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
Sean had gone strong in selection with the strongest team we could muster. Emiliano Boffelli was not available as his back was affecting him again but we had assurances from Sean that he should be back for Munster. Matt Currie filled in on the wing for the absent Boff but with his performance on the wing the other week I felt confident all would be fine.
A nice added touch for watching it at home meant I got to see the “kids round” stuff the URC had arranged, up stepped Luca with his fantastic interviewing skills. I know Luca and his dad from matches, they sit a few rows behind me and Luca once won a Scotland shirt signed by Darcy from our fans group so I, for one, loved seeing him on TV. His antics at the end with Ryan Wilson made for some classic TV.
Over the last few weeks we have been emphasising how much we need bonus point wins and with no disrespect to Zebre this match was our biggest chance to aim for the five.
READ MORE: Edinburgh deserve more credit insists Sean Everitt as he points to major improvements
The sun was beaming, the fans were excited, time for rugby.
The first half began and Zebre came straight out on attack and looked dangerous but a turnover from Hamish Watson allowed the team to start pushing. After 17 minutes we had our first try from a driving maul, with Ewan Ashman getting the ball across the line, unfortunately it was not converted though. Shortly after Zebre crossed the line and, despite it looking like obstruction of Edinburgh’s defence the try was awarded to Geronimo Prisciantelli, try was converted so Zebre took the lead.
Another driving maul took Ashman over the line again just after the half hour mark and this time Ben Healy converted it and we were back in the lead. A moment of beauty a few moments later as we saw WP Nel power over the line right under the posts, the referee checked for grounding, all good and converted by Healy. Half time and we were in the lead 19-7 and importantly had three tries already.
The sun was still shining as the second half began. It was a slow start to the second half, scrums and penalties but nothing affecting the scoreboard until the 56th minute when Zebre scored through Jacopo Trulla with a successful conversion the lead narrowed to just five points.
We kept pushing but nothing seemed to come and that fourth try seemed to be escaping us as time ticked by, suddenly a break from Healy was tossed to Chris Dean who took it across the line, try bonus point secured and lead increased, especially after Healy’s successful conversion.
In the 77th minute Ben Vellacott got the ball and just sprinted like Lightening McQueen up the pitch and scored, literally if you looked away for a second you would have missed it and with Healy having been replaced Cammy Scott converted the try. As the last few seconds ticked by Javan Sebastian pushed over the line and try converted so the final score was 40-14.
For me the star of the show was Ben Vellacott despite only coming on in the 60th minute, the lift in the team when he came on was palpable, even from my sofa. Duhan Van Der Merwe had a good match despite a few slip ups and Jamie Ritchie stood out again. Jamie really seems to be in his stride right now, fighting for everything (literally at times), he was voted player of the month of April and quite rightly so, I’m glad he’s continuing this into the month of May.
So we turn our attention to Munster, that will be a whole different kettle of fish. They are coming to the match on the back of beating the Bulls and Lions away from home and Connacht at home. We will need to be much better this week than we were on Friday to beat them. We need consistency and a solid game plan and I feel a fair bit of luck. Healy will be wanting to prove himself against his old team mates so hopefully the whole team can step up their game and we get a full 80 minute performance. We have the ability to beat Munster, I believe that, I’m sure the team believe it too.
A boost today getting the news that Marshall Sykes has signed for another two years for the club, I’ve seen Marshall make a big difference in the scrum coming off the bench a number of times so this news was music to my ears. Having chatted with his mum a few weeks ago, I was looking forward to the announcement coming.
It’s fan appreciation night on Friday and it’s looking like it will be a sell out. Having watched Friday’s match from home I cannot wait to get to the Hive.
Read the rules here