Edinburgh claim win at Scarlets

Editor

Edinburgh picked up a 26-15 away victory over the Scarlets on Saturday, a result that takes them above their hosts into eighth place in the PRO12.

Tries from Phil Burleigh and David Denton, as well as the accurate boot of Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, gave Edinburgh a 17-15 advantage at the break.

Five Steve Shingler penalties was the Welsh region's response in the first-half but, after Gareth Davies was sent-off for a headbutt in the second period, three further Hidalgo-Clyne three-pointers sealed the victory for the Scottish outfit. 

The hosts went into the game just one point ahead of Edinburgh in the table and it was evident early on that it was going to be a tight contest. 

Shingler opened the scoring for Wayne Pivac's men before the away side scored an outstanding try as good work from Jack Cuthbert, Hamish Watson and Tim Visser sent Burleigh clear. That effort signified their threat from broken field but they struggled to maintain their discipline and Shingler wasn't about to pass up opportunities. 

Three further penalties by the fly-half gave them a 12-7 buffer before Greig Tonks was yellow carded for the Scottish team. The Scarlets pivot was on target with the resultant three-point attempt and the hosts' advantage was extended to eight. 

However, it was motivation for Alan Solomons' team to lift the intensity and they reduced the deficit though the boot of Hidalgo-Clyne.

Denton then crossed the whitewash following a spell of pressure close to the line as Edinburgh went into the interval 17-15 ahead. 

It was a tense match and it remained narrow in the early exchanges of the second period. Perhaps it was too much for some players as Davies got into scuffle and proceeded to headbutt an opposition player. He was unsurprisingly dismissed and Hidalgo-Clyne was on target from the tee to take them further ahead. 

Edinburgh were now in complete control and, following two more Scarlets' infringements in the final ten minutes, further penalties from their scrum-half completed the win.

The scorers:

For Scarlets:
Pen: Shingler 5
Yellow: Barclay (32 mins)
Red: G Davies (59 mins)

For Edinburgh:
Tries: Burleigh, Denton
Con: Hidalgo-Clyne 2
Pen: Hidalgo-Clyne 4
Yellow: Tonks (24 mins)

Scarlets: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Regan King, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Hadleigh Parkes, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay, 7 James Davies, 6 Lewis Rawlins, 5 George Earle, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans.
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Jack Payne, 20 Rory Pitman, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Michael Tagicakibau.

Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Phil Burleigh, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Mike Coman (c), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 WP Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 John Andress, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Sam Beard.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Chris Williams (Wales), Martyn Lewis (Wales)
Television match official: Derek Bevan (Wales)