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Olympic gold medallist Viliame Mata made a flying start to his Edinburgh Rugby career with two tries in a record breaking win in Romania
Olympic gold medallist Viliame Mata made a flying start to his Edinburgh Rugby career with two tries in a record breaking win in Romania, but life is about to get a lot tougher for him and his new team mates.
Harlequins will be fancying another trip to the Challenge Cup final after blitzing Stade Francais Paris 43-21 in their opening game last weekend. And their trip to BT Murrayfield will give them an early taste of the 2017 final venue.
The game will be interim coach Duncan Hodge’s first home game since taking over from Alan Solomons . While he will have been delighted to see his side re-write their Challenge Cup record books with their highest points tally (59), their biggest win (42), their most tries (9) and most conversions (7) against Timisoara Saracens, he knows full well that the real action starts in Round 2.
The same will be true for Mata, who will join forces with hat-trick hero Nasi Manu in trying to stop Harlequins No 8 James Chisholm. The Englishman carried off the Heineken Man of the Match award for his two tries just before the interval at the Twickenham Stoop last week and was a huge threat with ball in hand.
“It's going to be a big test and it's one we're looking forward to. It will be nice to be back in front of a home crowd,” said Hodge.
“We got away to a fast start against a team that had a lot of local Romanians and quite a few foreigners as well. They lacked a bit of confidence and we gained in some and we played well.
“Now we are looking forward to performing well and going up against one of the top teams in England. There are two other very good teams in our group, which will be great to test ourselves against and learn from.
“We are hoping for a big crowd on Saturday and it's our job to back up that with a performance and give the fans plenty to cheer about.”
One player looking forward to the game more than most will be Harlequins wing Tim Visser. He warmed-up for a trip back to his old stamping ground with two tries against Stade Francais in a game in which he had 11 carries and made 176 metres.
Match Facts
- Edinburgh have won five of their last seven European games against Premiership opposition (L2).
- Edinburgh are currently on an eight-game winning streak at home in the Challenge Cup.
- Harlequins have never faced Scottish opposition in the Challenge Cup, however, they faced Caledonia in the European Cup in 1996, winning 56-35.
- Edinburgh’s Nasi Manu and Stuart McInally each scored a hat-trick last weekend in the win over Timisoara Saracens. No other player in the competition managed more than two tries in Round 1.
- BT Murrayfield is the venue for the 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup Final
Scottish stand-off Duncan Weir is looking for greater consistency from his Edinburgh side as they head into the crucial back-to-back clashes with Stade Francais Paris in the European Rugby Challenge Cup. - 07/12/2016 14:37
Tom Brown was the toast of BT Murrayfield as he kept Edinburgh on course for a potential home Challenge Cup final in May with a last gasp try to overtake Harlequins at the death.
Leading 31-14 at the break, with a bonus point already in the bag, it looked as though the Scottish capital side were going to romp home. But Harlequins had other ideas and hit back to lead 35-31 with 15 minutes to go.
As a pre-cursor to the European Finals Weekend in Edinburgh in May, 2017, it was a fantastic advertisement with 11 tries and 71 points. Edinburgh emerged with five points and Quins headed home with two.
There was final drama as Harlequins pushed for a matchwinning try or penalty at the end, but an Edinburgh turnover on their own line brought victory. Before the match there was an impeccably observed minute silence by the crowd of 5,326 people in the memory of Munster head coach Anthony Foley, but after that it was Harlequins who came out of the blocks fastest.
Immediate pressure on the Edinburgh line brought a five metre lineout and a half break by scrum half Karl Dickson drew the defence to allow a slick pass to put wing Charlie Walker clear to cross the line. Nick Evans converted.
Edinburgh hit straight back and there were two tries within the first four minutes, turnover ball on half way freed centre Phil Burleigh and he passed back inside for prop Allan Dell to score in the corner.
Another six minutes and Edinburgh scored again with a moment of individual brilliance by full back Blair Kinghorn taking advantage of a two on two to slice through to the corner on his own, skipping outside the despairing Evans.
Edinburgh's third try came after 19 minutes, No 8 Nasi Manui finishing off after a break by right wing Damian Hoyland. Jason Tovey landed his first conversion.
The try scoring bonus point came within 25 minutes, again turnover ball which was run from Edinburgh's 22 with Kinghorn giving the scoring pass to flanker Hamish Watson. Tovey added his second conversion.
Harlequins got a penalty try from a driving lineout just before the break, Evans adding the straightforward conversion, but when they tried to get another it gave Hoyland an interception and the wing went the length of the pitch for the try. Kinghorn converted as Tovey and Walker were sin-binned for a scuffle off the ball.
Harlequins needed to score early in the second half and did just that, prop Kyle Sincler finishing once Marland Yarde had been tackled short of the line. Evans added another conversion.
However Harlequins were then down to 13 men, prop Joe Marler taking out Ben Toolis in a lineout, soon cancelled out when Edinburgh captain Grant Gilchrist saw yellow just as Walker and Tovey returned to the pitch, this time for being the wrong side of a ruck.
With Marler back on the pitch, the London side took advantage with another penalty try from a driving lineout.
Tom Swiel added the conversion to bring his side back within three points.
Another period of pressure on the line put Harlequins ahead with replacement back rower Mat Luamanu barging his way over. Swiel again added the conversion. Edinburgh looked to have hit back as replacement Glenn Bryce went over in the corner, only for play to be called back for a Harlequins scrum.
However, they were not to be denied when, with a penalty coming anyway, Hoyland lofted a kick over the Quins try line which was reclaimed by left wing Brown who just got the ball down for the try with just over six minutes remaining. Tovey hit the post with the conversion as Edinburgh led by a point.
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