Way back in March 2019, just as lockdown
started, Edinburgh asked me to compile a list of my top 10 tries of the season
so far for a Twitter feature to run over the next couple of months.
With no live rugby it was fun to have to watch back all the games in the season up to that point and make my choices.
We could do with a wee boost right now so here they are for your pleasure along with links to the specific Twitter posts so you can see the actual tries. The one exception is no. 4 where I’ve linked to the YouTube video as the club chose the wrong try to highlight. Understandable really. Darcy did score 4 that day.
1. Charlie
Shiel v Kings Round 10.
Although the game was finished as a contest
by the time Shiel took to the field in the 67th minute he made the
most of his opportunity. The scrum half fed van Der Walt from a scrum just
outside the Edinburgh 22. He gave it to JJ who offloaded back to Van Der Walt
in the tackle. Kinghorn was next on the ball and he gave it to Sau who passed
infield to Scott who offloaded beautifully in the tackle to Shiel who hadn’t
stopped running since the initial pass and he had a run in.
On the face of it this was a rather easy
try but it’s the kind that makes you gasp out loud at the sheer simple elegance
of it. 17 minutes in the game was still scoreless. Edinburgh won a ruck on the
Glasgow 10 metre line and the ball was quickly moved right to the hovering Bill
Mata. Despite a textbook tackle from Callum Gibbins Bill offloaded to Darcy
Graham and with the pass being as unexpected as it was brilliant it left the
Glasgow full back stranded and Darcy took the gift gratefully.
What can you say about this try? It had
everything. A fantastic run from Scott beating men for fun, a despairing and
eventually judged illegal tackle on the line and a seemingly interminable TMO review
before the decision came to award the try. It may have been awarded to Pen Try
but it was Matt Scott’s really.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK0lt6V5uXw (23secs)
Blair must have thought he’d scored the
winner in this first leg of the 1872 at Scotstoun when he crossed in the 71st
minute to put Edinburgh in front by one point. A ruck just inside Glasgow’s 22
saw good interplay between Edinburgh’s backs and loose forwards before Hamish
Watson found Blair out on the left wing. He had plenty of work to do though and
stepped inside leaving Price and Johnson in a heap before powering over despite
the attentions of Adam Ashe. There was unfortunately still drama to come in
this game.
Munster fielded a much changed side for
this game but despite that they still held the lead as the game entered the
last quarter. Edinburgh were on the attack but looked to be going nowhere when
Henry Pyrgos passed it to Kinghorn. He looked up and saw Eroni Sau lurking on
the right wing and executed a perfect Crossfield kick to give the Fijian an
easy score in the corner. The try was decisive and Edinburgh thereafter closed
the game out for a rare win in Ireland.
https://twitter.com/EdinburghRugby/status/1249648500570193920
7. Duhan van Der Merwe v Scarlets Round 11
Having scored 3 tries earlier in the
campaign against the Welsh side they must have been deflated to see the big
winger line up against them in this one and it took him only 7 minutes to score
the opener. A couple of hand offs and then a lovely overhead offload from Nick
Haining, channelling his inner Bill Mata, found Matt Scott. He fed Duhan, A
missed tackle and another hand off from him, then a burst of speed and inside
step took him past the Scarlets defence like a hot knife through butter. An
important score that gave Edinburgh a huge advantage in a tight game played in
poor conditions.
8 George Taylor v Agen (a)
Edinburgh travelled to France for the
opening round in this year’s Challenge Cup and most of us were probably unsure
what to expect from Agen so Taylors try in the 15th minute probably had a
settling effect on fans and players alike. Taylor found Sau with a crisp pass
and he offloaded nicely in the tackle to JJ who offloaded to Taylor for a run
in. This was the centre’s first of the night and underlined his growing stature
in this Edinburgh squad.
https://twitter.com/EdinburghRugby/status/1244564436930703362
9. Luke Crosbie V Benetton Round 5
On an otherwise disappointing night Luke
Crosbie’s try was a beacon in the darkness. Ally Miller fed Mike Willemse on
the Edinburgh 22. He passed to Mark Bennett who threaded his way past countless
Benetton defenders before trying to put a chip through. The chip bounced off a
Benetton player straight into Crosbie’s arms and the wing forward having ran
almost the length of the field in support got his reward.
Not quite the first try of the season but certainly
the first try of the season contender. Lewis Carmichael fed Shiel off the top
of a lineout and Shiel with the kind of electric break we are getting used to
set off at warp speed catching the defence napping. He executed a two on one to
allow Mark Bennett to score his hat trick on the night.
There were 4 games of the 2019-2020 season
after lockdown. 6 Tries were scored in that period. Any of them contenders?
Have I missed any that should have been in the 10 from earlier in the season? There are no rights and wrongs here, just opinions. Let me know in the comments.
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