ANDY Robinson has a house less than a mile from Bath's Recreation Ground and it was an enjoyable homecoming for the Edinburgh head coach last night.
Keen to provide his side with a stern final test ahead of the regular season, Robinson saw Edinbur
gh warm-up for next weekend's opening Magners League game against Munster with an outstanding success over the Guinness Premiership giants.
In fact a second summer success over one of England's foremost clubs cannot fail to give the capital city side a significant boost for a tough first month in which they also tackle Celtic League champions Leinster, in Dublin, and the Llanelli Scarlets, on home soil.
Once they had come to terms with the new Experimental Law Variations, a task which took the visitors 15 minutes, they were more than a match for one English rugby's elite. In fact such was their domination for periods of the second half, that the 11 point winning margin could have been far greater.
Still, they had to come from behind after Bath had taken an eighth minute lead through full back and England cap Nick Abendanon. Bradford Bulls rugby league convert Shantayne Hape, making his debut for the west country powerhouse, timed a pass to perfection to release wing Joe Maddock and in turn, Maddock sent in Abendanon for a fine try.
Australian fly-half Shaun Berne added a penalty from 15 yards soon afterwards and, with the line-out struggling to provide decent ball for skipper Mike Blair to set his backs on their way, it had the look of a long night in the West Country for Edinburgh.
Still, after soaking up the pressure of the European Challenge Cup champions, the confidence levels suddenly began to rise.
Chris Paterson, back with Edinburgh after an ill-fated stint last season down the road in Gloucester, looked comfortable with ball in hand and positive with the ball at his feet.
So, when Bath gave the prolific goal-kicker three seperate opportunities infront of the posts, he duly obliged to give Edinburgh a single point advantage at the interval.
The cohesion and pattern that Robinson needed in this final run-out before meeting the Irish region began to appear.
And, although the kine out was a cause for concern, Edinburgh were ble to take control of the contest in the second period, with Blair at the centre of everything positive.
They were rewarded for their endeavour after 46 minutes when Bath fumbled on the half-way line to allow replacement David Callam to hack on down the left.
Wing Simon Webster rounded the lone defender, opposite number Andrew Higgins, to cross unopposed.
All the invention came from the Scotsmen in attack but they were equally as impressive when the home side, containing four English internationals, tried to break their defence.
Tirelessly, the midfield and back row crashed into tackles which frustrated Bath and saw them make errors which were directly attributable to the pressure they were being placed under.
Edinburgh soaked up the last attacks sent their way in the dying moments and understandably, Robinson walked away with a broad smile.
There are sure to be tougher examinations than this during the season, but there will be few sides who leave the Rec this season with a victory under their belt.
Robinson was delighted with the win but disappointed with two shoulder charges on his players, Nick De Luca and David Blair.
"It was a good win for us, but I will be looking at the match video at two shoulder charges on my players that I thought were dangerous," said Robinson. "I am disappointed by it and there needs to be something done about that. It's a tough individual game at its best, but there are issues there and after I have looked at the video, I will be making a decision."
Teams. Bath: N Abendanon, J Maddock, S Hape, E Fuimaono-Sapolu, A Higgins, S Berne, M Claassens, D Barnes, L Mears, M Stevens, J Harrison, P Short, S Hooper, M Lipman (capt), J Faamatuainu.
Subs: D Flatman for D Barnes 58mins, P Dixon for L Mears 58mins, D Bell for M Stevens 58mins, M Banahan for A Higgins 70mins, J Ovens for J Faamatuainu 79mins.
Scorers Bath: Try: N Abendanon. Pen: S Berne.
Edinburgh: Tries: S Webster, A Turnbull. Pens: C Paterson (3)
Edinburgh: C Paterson, M Robertson, C Macrae, N De Luca, S Webster, P Godman, M Blair (capt), A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, M Mustchin, C Hamilton, S Newlands, A MacDonald, A Hogg.
Edinburgh: A Easson for N De Luca 30 mins, D Callam for S Newlands 40mins, D Blair for P Godman 40mins, H Southwell for M Robertson 40mins, A Turnbull for S Webster 55mins, G Laidlaw for D Blair 64mins, K Traynor for A Jacobsen 68mins, R Grant for K Traynor 80mins, S Turnball for M Mustchin 80mins.
Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire)
Attendance: 3,300
The full article contains 831 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
