Edinburgh set themselves up for a season-defining finale when the Guinness PRO12 resumes at the end of the month. First they face a must-win clash against the Scarlets in Llanelli then, eight days later, they embark on a European Challenge Cup quarter-final against London Irish in Reading.
Their workmanlike win in Italy completed a good weekend for the Scots with Glasgow Warriors not only claiming a five-point win on Friday to go top of the table but then seeing all three of their Irish rivals lose to give Gregor Townsend’s side some breathing space.
For Edinburgh the result was the only thing that mattered as they battled to keep themselves in the hunt for the sixth spot in the league that would earn them Champions Cup rugby next season. What heartened Alan Solomons, the head coach, even more was that all the key players, including those who had been involved in Scotland’s morale-shattering defeat by Italy the week before, turned in sparkling performances.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “With Connacht having gone down to Cardiff earlier in the weekend, it was vital that we should win, and to add the bonus was great. We should have had a fifth try at the end but that was a great win for us, particularly with guys coming back and having to slot back into the team.”
The issue for Edinburgh in their three-way battle for the sixth spot is that, although they trail the Scarlets by only a point, they have the tougher run-in with both Munster and Leinster among the sides visiting BT Murrayfield. Connacht, who are a further three points ahead of the Scarlets, have a nightmare finish that includes four of the five sides locked in the battle for the four play-off places. However if Edinburgh allow the Scarlets to put a bit of daylight between them by winning their next match then catching them would be a huge ask.
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With a number of senior players back, this was an Edinburgh side transformed from the one that went down meekly to Cardiff Blues last week. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, the scrum half, won the man of the match award but Matt Scott, with two tries in a dominating midfield performance, was at least as strong a candidate, while there were also impressive shifts from Ben Toolis and Hamish Watson after the sin bins they picked up a week earlier on their international debuts.
Watson grabbed the first try from the back of a maul, before Scott got on the scoreboard running in the rebound from a Toolis charge-down. The middle period of the match was dominated by the Italians, though Solomons was delighted with the defence before his side grabbed control back for Andries Strauss and Scott again to claim the bonus point.
Scorers: Benetton Treviso: Try: Ragusi (69min). Penalty goal: Hayward (33). Edinburgh: Tries: Watson (17), Scott 2 (19, 73), Strauss (59). Conversions: Hidalgo-Clyne 3. Penalty goal: Hidalgo-Clyne (35).
Scoring sequence (Benetton Treviso first): 0-7, 0-14, 3-14, 3-17 (half-time), 3-22, 8-22, 8-29.
Benetton Treviso: J Hayward; S Ragusi, A Pratichetti, S Christie (rep: J Carlisle, 1min-11), L Nitoglia; J Ambrosini (rep: H Seniloli, 4-13, rep: J Carlisle, 41), A Lucchese (rep: H Seniloli, 64); M Zanusso (rep: R Acosta, 58), D Giazzon (rep: A Anae, 61), S Manu (rep: R Harden, 43), A Pavanello (captain; rep: M Swanepoel, 58), M Fuser, M Barbini (rep: P Derbyshire, 74), D Budd (rep: N Cattina, 64), M Luamanu.
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Edinburgh: J Cuthbert (rep: N McLennan, 74); D Fife, M Scott, A Strauss (rep: S Beard, 65), T Visser; G Tonks, S Hidalgo-Clyne (rep: N Fowles, 74); R Sutherland (rep: N Cochrane, 70), S McInally (rep: G Shiells, 70), W Nel (rep: J Andress, 70), A Bresler (rep: O Atkins, 55), B Toolis, M Coman (captain), H Watson, D Denton (rep: R Grant, 62).
Referee: N Owens (Wales). Attendance: 3,018.
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