EDINBURGH struck a timely blow for Scottish rugby and duly consolidated their lofty slot in the Magners League.
With only Euan Murray and Nathan Hines making the 37-man British and Irish Lions squad for this summer's tour to South Africa, the Scot
tish game required a significant shot in the arm over the weekend.
And just as they have all season, it was Andy Robinson's Gunners that came up trumps with a stunning victory over the high-flying Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.
Furthermore, the victory could be bolstered this week by the news that scrum-half Mike Blair has finally made the Lions tour albeit as a replacement for Tomas O'Leary who broke his ankle while playing for Munster against the Scarlets on Friday night.
Blair led with quality and confidence on a night that further confirmed the standing of Edinburgh in the Celtic league.
His work at the base of ruck and scrum was outstanding while his leadership and constant sniping kept Edinburgh on course for a bonus point away day success.
He said: "It was extremely frustrating for Scottish rugby to only have two guys in there. The selectors have got a type of player they are looking for, so all we can do is keep pushing our case.
"I'm confident in my abilities as a player and it's up to the selectors. If they want me, then great news. If not, I will keep on sticking in there and see what happens.
"In the last three or four weeks I have been happy with my form. It's a case of wait and see."
Robinson was delighted as Blair displayed his qualities at a crucial time.
He said: "I thought Mike played well once again. It's a great shame they have had the injury, but Mike obviously comes into the equation now.
"He is a quality international scrum-half and is definitely a candidate. If he was chosen to go, he would certainly offer something on the tour."
As far as the game was concerned, Robinson said: "The draw was probably the deserved result. It was a good game of rugby and it's not often you see tries scored from first phase. On this occasion there were three of them. Obviously, having conceded four tries, we need to look at our defence. We dropped off a couple of tackles and that was disappointing. Still, we showed a lot of courage, particularly in the second half when they went in front. We went at them in the final quarter, held on to some ball and took our chances."
"This was only our second away win this season and it puts in a position of having our best Magners League finish."
The Gunners had to come from behind, however. Shane Williams crossed for a try after ten minutes and fellow Lion Tommy Bowe added a second shortly after.
Edinburgh responded with a fine try from the outstanding Ben Cairns. After another Lion, Lee Byrne, was short with a long-range penalty, took a 19-10 lead courtesy of Cairns, with his second, and Simon Webster.
The Ospreys recovered to cut the interval deficit to 19-17 with a try for Byrne, who was sent in by Lions team-mate Bowe, but it was the Gunners who began the better in the second half with Chris Paterson kicking two penalties for an eight-point lead.
Against the run of play, the Ospreys moved back into the lead with a converted try from hooker Huw Bennett and two penalties from Dan Biggar.
At that juncture, it looked as though the Ospreys were set to put behind them their recent poor form. However, with time running out, lock Jim Hamilton popped up for a try and Phil Godman landed a nerveless last-gasp conversion.
Scorers: Ospreys: Tries: Williams, Bowe, Byrne, Bennett. Cons: Biggar 2. Pens: Biggar 2. Edinburgh: Tries: Cairns 2, Webster, J Hamilton. Cons: Paterson 2, Godman. Pens: Paterson 2.
Ospreys: L Byrne; T Bowe, J Hook, A Bishop, S Williams; D Biggar, M Phillips; P James (D Jones 60), H Bennett, A Jones, F Levi (M Holah 62), A Lloyd (I Gough 62), T Smith, S Tandy, R Jones (capt)
Edinburgh: C Paterson (H Southwell 64); J Houston, B Cairns, N De Luca, S Webster, P Godman, M Blair (capt, G Laidlaw 73); K Traynor, R Ford (A Kelly 63), G Cross (R Grant 66), C Hamilton (S Macleod 64), J Hamilton, S Newlands, A Macdonald, A Hogg
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
The full article contains 767 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
