Consolation win for Blues
Cardiff Blues secured second place behind Northampton in Pool One of the Heineken Cup as they beat Edinburgh 21-14 at Murrayfield.
Last Updated: 22/01/11 11:20pm
Cardiff Blues secured second place behind Northampton in Pool One of the Heineken Cup as they beat Edinburgh 21-14 at Murrayfield.
The hosts scored the only try of the match through centre Ben Cairns but Leigh Halfpenny kicked five penalties and Dan Parks added another two to boot Dai Young's side to victory.
However the win was not enough for the Blues to give themselves a chance of a place in the last eight of the second-tier Amlin Challenge Cup.
Chris Paterson slotted over three penalties for Edinburgh who finish bottom of the group with just one win to show from their six matches.
Cardiff opened their account after just two minutes when Scotland fly-half Parks slotted over a 20-metre penalty to break the deadlock.
Falling behind so early on seemed to rally Edinburgh into life and they made it three apiece when Paterson - making a rare start at fly-half - thumped over a long-range kick following an illegal tackle on Simon Webster.
Only try
Although the Blues took the lead again through Halfpenny's first penalty, the hosts piled on the pressure and were rewarded with the only try of the night after 28 minutes.
James King produced a perfectly-weighted chip over the top of the defence, allowing Cairns to hack the ball forwards before plunging on in the corner.
Paterson was unable to add the extras but did slot over a penalty to put Edinburgh into a deserved 11-6 lead at the end of the first 40 minutes.
Parks did cut the gap by three with a penalty a minute after the restart, though a second missed effort on the night soon after resulted in him being replaced at fly-half by Ceri Sweeney.
A third penalty from Paterson restored the five-point cushion but from then on Halfpenny took over proceedings to kick Cardiff to victory.
The Wales international twice landed from long range to nudge his team in front and he was also on target from 45 yards out after Edinburgh flanker Alan MacDonald received a yellow card, making it 18-14.
Any hopes the hosts had of mounting a late comeback disappeared when Halfpenny put the final nail in their coffin with a 73rd minute penalty.
