Edinburgh battle for bonus-point win in Vannes

The win keeps Edinburgh at the top of the pool on 11 points and means any victory against Black Lion at Hive Stadium next weekend will see the capital side progress as group winners, and guarantees them a home Round of 16 and Quarter-Final should they continue in the competition.

Duhan van der Merwe’s 62^nd minute score secured all five points for Edinburgh after three tries in the opening half gave Sean Everitt’s side a 17-19 lead.

Wes Goosen and an Ali Price double had Edinburgh in the ascendance before the hosts battled back in the second period.

Edinburgh showed guts and determination to close out the match however and Ross Thompson’s late penalty provided the coup de grace for the capital side who were able to build on last month’s impressive intercity with over Glasgow.

Head Coach Sean Everitt said: “We knew we were coming into a battle, playing in front of a Vannes support who are incredibly passionate. And we haven’t done well away from home either, so it was always going to be a battle.

“I’m really proud we were able to come away with the win and I thought there was some great rugby from both sides. Hopefully the spectators have come away feeling entertained after that one.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got four tries and big win which keeps us in a good position in the European log.”

Edinburgh started the game with brilliant attacking intent and should have been up early had it not been for a misjudged penalty attempt from Ben Healy.

The capital side did eventually take the lead in the 8^th minute however with the impressive Price the architect.

With the Edinburgh forwards only metres out, Price chucked a pinpoint miss-one to Goosen who had the simple task of dotting down [0-5].

Vannes hit back with a penalty following a period of ill-discipline, however Edinburgh were starting to spot gaps in the Vannes defence and when Matt Currie broke through in the 18^th minute it was on.

With Currie shifting it to Graham, the winger was able to find the trailing Price who finished under the sticks [3-12].

Vannes continued to battle and hit back once again with a strong finish under the sticks, but Edinburgh soon launched another coast to coast attack that ended in Price dotting down.

Moving the ball left to right once again, a delayed pass saw Darcy Graham break free with the winger offloading to Lang on his shoulder.

With a man to beat, Lang showed great composure to draw and find Price once again who extended Edinburgh’s lead [10-19].

Edinburgh lost back-row duo Ritchie [HIA] and Muncaster to injury, although Ritchie would return in the second period after passing his assessment.

That disruption gave Vannes a way back into the game and the hosts were able to power over once again to cut the gap [17-19].

With Schoeman held up over the line with the last play of the half, it was a two point game going in the second period.

Vannes hit back with a simple penalty to take the lead 20-19 and it remained that way following a cagey start to the second-half which saw plenty of back and forth, but very little clear attacking play.

That was until Darcy Graham took the game into his own hands, taking a cross field kick from Healy and racing 40m before being dragged down.

That spark of brilliance ignited the match further and after winning a scrum penalty and kicking into the Vannes 22, Edinburgh had the advantage after a first phase attack.

That led to replacement Thompson – who had only entered the fray – nudging an accurate crossfield kick into the hands of Van der Merwe who finished with aplomb [20-26].

Vannes weren’t done yet however and were able to make it a one point game with an easy score against some stretched capital defence [25-26].

Edinburgh were determined to win this one however and with a late penalty from Thompson [25-29] and some courageous and disciplined defence, that was all she wrote as Sean Everitt’s side start 2025 with the best possible result.