Edinburgh Boost Play-off Hopes with Win at Connacht
Edinburgh kept their United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off aspirations firmly on track with a hard-fought 23-19 win over Connacht at The Sportsground in Galway on Friday night, dealing a blow to the Irish province’s own top-eight ambitions.
In a tense, closely-contested match played under typically blustery western Irish conditions, Sean Everitt’s side showed grit and composure to hold off a late Connacht surge and secure a valuable away victory—one that could prove pivotal in the tightly packed race for the final play-off spots.
Tries from Emiliano Boffelli and Jamie Ritchie, combined with the reliable boot of Ben Healy, gave Edinburgh the edge in a game that ebbed and flowed throughout. Connacht, who managed tries from Caolin Blade and Diarmuid Kilgallen, will rue missed opportunities and handling errors at crucial moments, particularly in the final quarter when they camped inside the visitors’ 22 but failed to convert pressure into points.
Early Control and Clinical Execution
Edinburgh started with confidence and intensity, bossing the early collisions and setting the tone with strong carries from Viliame Mata and Pierre Schoeman. Their control was soon rewarded when Healy slotted an early penalty to give them a 3-0 lead.
The visitors struck the first major blow just minutes later. Off a well-constructed phase attack near halfway, Healy spotted space and floated a perfectly timed pass out wide to Boffelli, who sprinted down the touchline and stepped inside the covering defence to score. Healy added the extras, and Edinburgh found themselves 10-0 up inside the opening quarter.
Connacht responded with resilience, gradually clawing their way into the contest. Blade provided the spark, sniping from the base of a ruck to score under the posts after a sustained spell of pressure. JJ Hanrahan’s conversion brought it back to 10-7, igniting the home crowd and giving Andy Friend’s side momentum heading into the break.
Set-piece Strength and Smart Game Management
The second half began with a renewed sense of urgency from Edinburgh. Their set-piece, particularly the scrum, began to turn the screw, earning penalties and forcing Connacht to play from deep. Another Healy penalty stretched the lead to 13-7, before Ritchie powered over from close range following a relentless maul. Again, Healy converted, and suddenly Edinburgh were in control at 20-7.
Connacht refused to fold. With the wind at their backs, they pinned Edinburgh deep and gradually chipped away at the lead. Kilgallen’s try, created from a slick midfield move and pinpoint offload from Bundee Aki, narrowed the gap to 20-14 with 15 minutes left.
Edinburgh then showed their steel, absorbing wave after wave of Connacht attack. Mata, Ritchie, and Luke Crosbie made vital tackles as the home side battered the fringes in search of a third try. A crucial turnover inside the Edinburgh 22 halted Connacht’s progress and earned Healy a shot at goal, which he calmly dispatched to make it 23-14 with five minutes to play.
Nervy Finish as Connacht Push Late
The final minutes were not without drama. Connacht scored again through replacement flanker Cian Prendergast after a quick tap penalty caught the visitors off-guard. However, the difficult conversion was missed, leaving Edinburgh with a narrow four-point advantage as the clock ticked into red.
Despite a nervy final phase, the Scots held firm, forcing a knock-on at the breakdown to bring the game to a close. The result sees Edinburgh leapfrog Connacht in the URC standings, moving into seventh place with one round remaining.
Reaction from Both Camps
Head coach Sean Everitt praised his side’s determination: “We knew this was a defining fixture, and I’m really proud of how the boys dug in. We managed the conditions well, took our chances, and defended with real character when it mattered most.”
Man of the Match Jamie Ritchie echoed that sentiment. “Connacht are tough to beat at home, especially when the wind gets up. But we believed in our systems and stuck together when things got tight. Every point matters at this stage.”
For Connacht, the loss is a bitter pill to swallow, especially given their dominance in the closing stages. “We left a few out there,” admitted captain Jack Carty. “It’s frustrating—we had the territory and the chances, but execution let us down. Now we’ve got to regroup fast.”
The Play-off Picture
With the win, Edinburgh climb to 7th in the URC table on 53 points, putting them in control of their play-off destiny ahead of next weekend’s final round. A win at home against Benetton would likely seal a quarter-final berth.
Connacht, meanwhile, drop to 9th and are now reliant on other results to go their way, as well as needing a bonus-point win in their final fixture against Leinster—a daunting task.
As the URC regular season nears its conclusion, this result could prove decisive. Edinburgh showed they have the steel to win under pressure, and with momentum on their side, they look like a team peaking at just the right time.
