Edinburgh 16 Cardiff Blues 3
Friday 3 April 7.30pm kick off
It was a foggy Friday night in Edinburgh as Nicky Robinson kicked off the Magners League match but it was Patterson who got the first points of the night following a period of possession by the home side.
The Blues to their credit, looked to spread the ball, but a good break by Halfpenny came to nothing, when the Blues were penalised for holding on inside Edinburgh twenty two. Laboured passing in the backs also meant that Edinburgh had enough time to push up and drive the Blues backwards.
It wasnt a polished opening for the Blues who nearly conceded a try through sloppy passing and a lack of concentration that saw Edinburgh win a scrum five after Ben Blair knocked the ball on behind his own try line. However, they regained possession and cleared.
The twenty-minute mark saw Paterson nearly double the lead, but his long-range penalty effort hit the upright. The Blues did have their chances, with a charge into the Edinburgh twenty-two, but once again they were penalised for diving in.
The opening half lacked any kind of spark and the 3-0 score summed things up.
Half time Edinburgh 3 Cardiff Blues 0
The breakthrough came in the second half
.. but it was for the home side. Following a period of Edinburgh possession the Scotsmen were 10 yards from the Blues try line and the defence was solid. However, Godman put in a neat little grubber into the long in-goal area and Webster had the pace to touch down first. Paterson converted.
To make matters worse the next period of play saw the Blues down to 14 men following a yellow card for Richie Rees. Minutes later Halfpenny left the field injured, however, it didnt look too serious.
The hour mark saw the Blues make a number of substitutions but it also saw the Blues get their first points of the night with a long range Ben Blair penalty. However, it wasnt long before Patterson dropped a drop goal from 35 yards out and the Blues never really looked like they would close the gap.
Ben Blair made a great break but once again the ball was turned over giving Edinburgh possession and allowing them to run at the Cardiff defence. They scored again with a neatly taken dropped goal by David Blair and the Blues failed to respond
Half time Edinburgh 16 Cardiff Blues 3
15 Ben Blair 14 Leigh Halfpenny (51off) 13 Jamie Robinson 12 Jamie Roberts 11 Chris Czekaj 10 Nicky Robinson (60off) 9 Richie Rees (70off) 8 Sam Warburton (60off)7 Robin Sowden Taylor 6 Ben White 5 Paul Tito (c) (57off) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Gary Powell (60off) 2 T Rhys Thomas 1 John Yapp 16 Taufaao Filise (60on) 17 Gareth Williams 18 Deiniol Jones (57on) 19 Scott Morgan (60on) 20 Darren Allinson (70on) 21 Ceri Sweeney (60on) 22 Richard Mustoe (51on)
Cardiff Blues
Tries
Pens Blair x 1
Cons
DG
Edinburgh
Tries Webster x1
Pens Paterson x 1
Cons Paterson x 1
DG Paterson x 1 D Blair x 1