High-flying Edinburgh edged out Ulster at BT Murrayfield tonight to send the visitors home with the scant consolation of a losing bonus point.
Tries from Sean Reidy and his opposite number Hamish Watson – the GUINNESS PRO12 man-of-the-match – were the highlights of an otherwise disappointing clash which saw Edinburgh retain their 100% record for 2015/16, and Ulster fall to their second consecutive defeat away from home.
Ulster scrum half Paul Marshall ran out for his 150th provincial cap in a starting line-up featuring four personnel changes from the demolition of Benetton Treviso two weeks ago.
An unchanged back-three had Louis Ludik at full-back with Craig Gilroy and Andrew Trimble on the wings, while centre Stuart McCloskey was partnered by Sam Arnold in the absence of Luke Marshall, the victim of a thumb injury.
Peter Nelson continued at out-half despite Ian Humphreys’ recovery from the hamstring injury which had ruled him out of the first three rounds. The latter provided back-up from the bench.
In the front row, Callum Black took over from Andrew Warwick at loosehead prop to join hooker Rob Herring and tighthead Wiehahn Herbst, while Franco van der Merwe returned to the second row to partner Dan Tuohy. Nick Williams came in at number 8 with Roger Wilson and Reidy either side of him in the back row.
A lacklustre first half yielded a meagre nine points and little to fill an under-populated Murrayfield with any signs of animation.
Williams’ infringement as he went off his feet in the fifth minute allowed Edinburgh full-back Greig Tonks fire over the opening three points of the game, and with Trimble penalised five minutes later for a similar offence, the hosts went for touch, only to surrender possession at the lineout.
Edinburgh, nonetheless, continued to call the tune as the second quarter loomed, Tonks’ left boot extending their lead in the 17th minute as a frustrated Ulster gave away their fifth penalty.
A fine right wing break from Marshall got Ulster into the home 22 and earned them a penalty which Nelson, assuming the kicking duties instead McCloskey, dispatched just inside the left hand upright for a 6-3 scoreline.
Nimble footwork from Reidy set up the next Ulster attack, which saw them probe and pound for a good five minutes, but fail to breach the line and eventually lose possession to ubiquitous flanker Watson, who was impressive throughout with his ball-carrying and tackling.
Trimble’s dynamic chip-and-chase effort kickstarted the second half into life just moments after the restart. Marshall swiftly scampered into the 22 from a tap penalty and Williams used all his bulk to secure a 50-50 ball, creating the space for Reidy to stretch over for his try.
Nelson converted, and after some neat passing between forwards and backs, the Edinburgh riposte culminated with a well-deserved try for Watson off replacement Viliamu Helu’s pass from the left wing.
Three points to the good courtesy of Tonks’ conversion (13-10), Edinburgh failed to sustain any momentum from the restart, and Ulster had only themselves to blame as they eschewed three easy points on the hour mark to kick a penalty to touch, and subsequently lost the chance by failing to drive the maul straight.
Tonks punished the Ulster profligacy on 65 minutes with his third penalty, and although a further attempt five minutes later screwed well wide, bullish Edinburgh defence – in particular from a rolling Ulster maul with seconds to go – ensured the six-point lead was enough to see the Scots home.
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