Edinburgh Rugby back with bang on wild Champions Cup night as youngster comes of age

Toulon come with a big reputation - they are three-time winners of the Champions Cup - and their recent form has also been decent, suggesting they could push Toulouse in the Top 14 this season. But they were overpowered on a rainy night in Edinburgh as the hosts fed off the energy of the home crowd.

There were a lot of big performances from Sean Everitt’s side but Liam McConnell stood tall in what felt like a coming of age performance from the flanker. He was everywhere, a constant thorn in the side of the visitors whose attempts to stop him strayed at one point into the dangerously unacceptable.

The weather was wild in the capital and there was some equally wild behaviour from Toulon’s captain David Ribbans who hit out at McConnell as the pair jostled on the floor. Ribbans was shown a yellow card but it could have been red.

It proved a key moment nonetheless, as Edinburgh won a penalty try while competing against Toulon’s short-handed pack while their skipper was cooling off on the sidelines.

Boan Venter took the plaudits, and rightly so. The replacement prop made a big impression when he came on in the second half and he applied the coup de grace five minutes from time when he powered over for Edinburgh’s fourth try.

That secured the bonus point and ensured they made the best possible start to their first Champions Cup campaign since 2022-23.

Toulon’s fast start

Toulon had led 10-0 inside the first six minutes but Edinburgh went in at the break 18-17 ahead thanks to tries from Pierre Schoeman and Ben Vellacott, cancelling out a double from the French side’s Scotland scrum-half, Ben White. The hosts kept their noses in front throughout the second half and were well worth the win which sets them nicely for next weekend’s trip to France to play Castres in their second Pool 2 fixture.

“It’s awesome,” McConnell said of the win. “We’ve looked forward to this from the start of the season. They are one of the top teams in one of the best leagues in the world and we were excited they were coming to our home so we were buzzing.”

Regarding their dominance up front, the back-rower added: “We thought that was an area where we could get at them and we did. It was scrappy at times but when we got our chances we took them.”

It had rained all afternoon but the quality of the rugby remained high. The first example came as early as the second minute when the imperious Melvyn Jaminet slotted over a drop goal from the 10-metre line after fielding an Edinburgh drop out.

Toulon had begun the game with pace and verve. White got the first of his two first-half tries in the sixth minute and it was merited on the balance of the early play. They built the phases after a lineout and when Schoeman overcommitted, White spotted the gap and darted over.

Jaminet’s conversion increased the visitors’ lead but Cammy Scott got Edinburgh on the board with a penalty soon after. The home side were feeling their way into the game and Vellacott’s delayed pass to Ewan Ashman almost led to a try. The hooker was stopped short by Jaminet but the pressure continued and Schoeman scored with a great pick and go.

Edinburgh, who had been 10-0 behind, were now level in what was turning into a gripping encounter. White was looking sharp and seemed to be enjoying the battle with some of his Scotland team-mates. He scored his second try from a quickly taken tap penalty, catching Edinburgh napping. Jaminet added the two points but it was the full-back’s last act and he was replaced by Matéo Garcia.

Edinburgh hit back with a superb try. McConnell won a lineout close to the Toulon line, Ashman then broke off from the drive and offloaded smartly to Vellacott who finished acrobatically in the corner.

Graham denied not once but twice

Scott was off target with the conversion attempt but landed his second penalty soon after to put Edinburgh ahead for the first time, 18-17. Darcy Graham broke clear just before half-time but was caught by Garcia.

Graham thought he had scored early in the second half but the score was chalked off because the winger had knocked the ball on earlier in the move. It seemed harsh.

Scott knocked over his third penalty but it was quickly cancelled out by one from Garcia as Edinburgh’s lead was reduced to a single point.

The game then descended into acrimony courtesy of Ribbans’ attack on McConnell. The home fans were in uproar, demanding that the England international be sent off, but referee Matthew Carley decided a sin-binning would suffice.

McConnell then tried for a cheeky try as Baptiste Serin dithered on his own line but Carley gave the replacement scrum-half the benefit of the doubt.

Edinburgh weren’t to be denied, though. With Venter on for Schoeman, they won a penalty try against the seven-man Toulon pack. Venter then scored a try in his own right after a series of pick and goes.

The five-point win was the ideal start for Edinburgh who will also meet Castres, Gloucester and Bath in the pool phase.

Edinburgh v Toulon teams and scorers

Scorers: Edinburgh - tries: Schoeman, Vellacott, penalty try, Venter. Con: Scott. Pens: Scott 3. Toulon - Tries: White 2. Cons: Jaminet 2. Pens: Garcia. DG: Jaminet

Yellow card: D Ribbans (Toulon, 57min)

Edinburgh: H Paterson (P O'Conor 57); D Graham (C Shiel 79), W Goosen, J Lang, D van der Merwe; C Scott, B Vellacott; P Schoeman (Venter 55), E Ashman (Morris 79), O Blyth-Lafferty (P Hill h-t), M Sykes (G Young 59), G Gilchrist, L McConnell, D Richardson (F Douglas 55), M Bradbury. Replacement not used: R Thompson.

Toulon: M Jaminet (M Garcia 22); G Drean, N Brex, J Sinzelle, M Ferte; P Garbisi (B Serin 58), B White (M Smaili 64); J-B Gros (D Priso 43-53; L Ametlla 76), T Baubigny (J Toevalu 76), K Sinckler (D Priso 54), D Ribbans, B Alainu'uese (C Mezou 53), L Ludlam, E Abadie, Z Mercer. Replacement not used J Quere Karaba.

Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng).

Attendance: 7,008.