Ulster Best Edinburgh for Final

Ulster beat brave Edinburgh to set up a Heineken Cup final against Leinster or Clermont-Auvergne on 19 May.

Ruan Pienaar kicked the first of his five penalties to put Ulster ahead although Greig Laidlaw replied to give Edinburgh a 6-3 advantage.

Pedrie Wannenburg's try restored Ulster's lead as Edinburgh wasted three try-scoring chances before half-time.

Two more Laidlaw penalties cut Ulster's lead but three Pienaar kicks made the game safe despite Jim Thompson's try.

Edinburgh, the first Scottish team to qualify for a European Cup semi-final, burst into the Ulster 22 in the opening minute with Tim Visser claiming that he had been impeded by Stephen Ferris after his chip behind the defence.

However, referee Romain Poite waved aside the Dutchman's protests and the French whistler penalised Allan Jacobsen for a collapsed scrum in the fourth minute, which allowed Pienaar to kick the opening points from halfway.

But Edinburgh were on terms within four minutes as Laidlaw, in near silence, levelled from 35m and the fly-half repeated the dose to put the Scots ahead four minutes later.

However, Edinburgh's lead was shortlived as Ulster pressure yielded a scrum just short and as the Scottish club's front five were pushed back alarmingly, Wannenburg reached over for the try.

Mike Blair claimed that the ball had come out of the scrum but Poite disagreed and Pienaar slotted the conversion.

Edinburgh, playing an attractive off-loading game, fought back to dominate possession in the remainder of the first half but they wasted three glorious try-scoring changes.

The Scots charged to within two yards of the Ulster line in the 25th minute but the ball squirted out of a ruck which allowed Pienaar to clear.

Ulster were then temporarily reduced to 14 when Stefan Terblanche was sin-binned for throwing a punch at Ross Ford at a ruck.

Edinburgh sensed their opportunity but Netani Talei spilled possession once again two yards from the Ulster line and a forward pass from Visser saw another chance wasted after a brilliant Blair break.

Pienaar increased Edinburgh frustration as he slotted another three points after Lee Jones had run in front of his kicker but Laidlaw steadied the Scots with a penalty in injury-time.

Ulster's lead was down to the minimum four minutes after the restart as Laidlaw slotted his fourth penalty after a break from Matt Scott.

But a Pienaar break started a period of intense Ulster pressure, though the Edinburgh defence somehow held out with Laidlaw ripping the ball away after Dan Tuohy and then Wannenburg were both held inches short of the line.

Pienaar had turned down two certain penalties as Ulster threatened after the resumption but he took the three points on offer in the 57th minute and then extended the lead to 19-12 in the 63rd minute.

By that stage, Ulster were relying on their set-piece to strangle Edinburgh's running game and when the Scots did have possession, they were invariably undone by handling errors.

Pienaar's 76th-minute penalty put more than a score between the teams and Thompson's injury-time try - converted by Laidlaw - was too late for the battling Scottish side.

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Edinburgh v Ulster - Teams

Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley has named an unchanged team for Saturday's Heineken Cup semi-final clash with Ulster in Dublin.

The same starting XV which toppled mighty Toulouse at Murrayfield in the quarter-finals have been given the chance to earn a place in the Twickenham showpiece.

The only switch in the 23-man squad was on the bench, where back-row Stuart McInally (hamstring) failed a fitness test, leading to a call-up for lock Steven Turnbull.

Edinburgh will take 4,000 fans to Dublin, where they will battle with Ulster for the right to play either Clermont Auvergne or defending champions Leinster, who meet on Sunday.

"The size of the occasion and the backing from fans has not been lost on the players," Bradley said. "It will be a huge test. The hype, the intensity, the crowd, and the fact that we're away from home have a bearing on the size of the challenge.

"Ulster are one of the in-form sides in Europe and will take great confidence from their two league wins over us already this season, on top of their away win over Munster in the quarter-final.

"Our form in this competition is such that we can rightly approach this match with a lot of confidence. The character and resolve of the players has been well tested in this competition and we have prevailed."

Ulster will be hoping that 13 years of hurt will finally come to an end as they look to overcome Edinburgh and return to a Heineken Cup Final stage.

It has been well over a decade since the Northern Irish side beat Colomiers at Lansdowne Road in a game that saw over 30,000 fans travel over the border. David Humphreys lifted the coveted trophy on that day after 80 minutes that saw 18 of their 21 points scored by the reliable Simon Mason.

Ulster will be without key players John Afoa (suspension) and Chris Henry (injury), with youngster Paddy Jackson starting at number ten ahead of Ian Humphreys.

Henry has been ruled out after failing to recover from an ankle sprain picked up in the PRO12 match against Leinster last weekend. Other injury concerns Paddy Wallace, Wannenburg and Paul Marshall have all been passed fit, with the latter on the bench.

"Edinburgh are one of the form teams in Europe. They beat Toulouse, one of the kingpins of the competition, and you have to respect them for that," said coach Brian McLaughlin.

"They have a great spine; their pack is full of internationals and they have an excellent back row. They have international half backs who are very good at controlling the game so it will be a big challenge for us. They are not going to fear coming to the Aviva."

Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller (capt), 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Robbie Diack, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Adam D'Arcy.

Edinburgh: 15 Tom Brown, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Greig Laidlaw (capt), 9 Mike Blair, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 David Denton, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sean Cox, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.

Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Steven Turnbull, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Phil Godman, 23 Jim Thompson.

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Shadow Leinster Trounce Edinburgh

Sportsfile

Leinster ran in eight tries against Edinburgh at the RDS to win 54-13 and secure a home semi-final in the RaboDirect PRO12.

The league leaders are guaranteed to finish in the top two following their 16th win of the campaign in a game which could conceivably be a warm-up for the Heineken Cup final.

Shane Jennings' early try was cancelled out by Nick De Luca's 11th-minute effort, before scores from Fergus McFadden and Sean Cronin saw Leinster move into an 18-7 interval lead.

Fionn Carr's 43rd-minute try sealed the bonus point but Edinburgh leaked four more touchdowns in a one-sided second half.

The game burst into life with a number of players looking to press their claims for more regular game-time, and the sight of Devin Toner galloping into the Edinburgh 22 delighted the home support.

McFadden watched a penalty attempt flick away off the left post, but covering winger Lee Jones failed to control the difficult bouncing ball and Jennings swept in to ground it for the opening try.

McFadden failed to add the conversion and Edinburgh initiated an immediate response, piling through the middle before Laidlaw's pass sent De Luca over for a well-worked try.

The right-sided conversion was landed by Laidlaw to move the Scots 7-5 ahead, but their lead was a brief one as Leinster hit back with a stunning second touchdown.

Countering from deep, Isa Nacewa sent David Kearney surging down the right wing and his inside pass was perfectly timed for McFadden to gather and complete a 40-metre dash to the corner.

But the centre's kicking woes continued with a missed conversion and a penalty attempt that went wide at the midpoint of the half.

Edinburgh defended well until Kyle Traynor infringed at a 29th-minute scrum and McFadden was back on target from the resulting kick.

Laidlaw missed a long range effort and the hosts, retaining possession well, added a third unconverted try when hooker Cronin charged on to Isaac Boss' pass to score from close range.

Into the second half, Edinburgh conceded an early try as Ian Madigan's clever kick to the left was collected by Carr and the conversion was supplied by Nacewa.

Two penalties from Laidlaw kept Michael Bradley's men in touch at 25-13 down, butr the hosts dominated the final quarter.

A Nacewa penalty put 15 points between the sides and then the full-back burst on to a Boss pass to grab try number five which he converted himself.

A powerful lineout maul saw replacement Leo Auva'a crash over for the sixth, and a scintillating length of the field break, sparked by man-of-the-match Madigan, put another reserve, Brendan Macken, over in the same right corner.

The icing on the cake for Joe Schmidt's charges was a last-minute try for giant lock Toner, who darted through a gap and muscled over past the final two defenders.

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Bradley Heralds Fans for Historic Win

Coach Michael Bradley paid tribute to the 37,881 fans that cheered Edinburgh to victory over Toulouse for a place in the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

A record crowd for a quarter-final in Britain saw the home side win 19-14 at a cacophonous Murrayfield.

"We had close on 40,000 people here and I think they were a factor," Bradley told BBC Radio Scotland.

"With 20 minutes to go there was one score in it and the boys really dug deep with the crowd behind them."

Edinburgh became the first Scottish side to reach the last four of Europe's premier tournament after an early try by Mike Blair and a string of successful kicks from Greig Laidlaw.

And Bradley's side had to come from behind to overhaul the four-time winners, who scored an outstanding try through Timoci Matanavou and added nine points from Lionel Beauxis.

Allan Jacobsen and Ross Rennie were both shown yellow cards in the first half but the home team battled impressively to trail by just four points at the interval.

"On the second yellow card, when Ross was binned, we were delighted that they went for a kick at goal," Bradley said.

"I think the reason they did that was because it was such a tight game.

"If they had put the pressure on and got a potential try it could have caused us difficulty.

"To hold them to that score in that period was great credit to the boys and the effort they put in.

"We carried some good ball and were able to maintain our composure.

"In the final 10 minutes, Toulouse were really pushing the button to try and get some turnover ball but our lads took the hits and supported each other well."

Much of Edinburgh's success in the Heineken Cup this season has been down to their exciting backs but the pack played a key role in overcoming the visitors.

"Toulouse are a powerful scrummaging unit and their line-out is very challenging," explained Bradley.

"I thought we went well in both areas and on their ball in particular."

A trip to Dublin to face Munster or Ulster is next for Edinburgh and Bradley is looking forward to a return to his native Ireland.

"It's a fantastic thrill for us to be going to the Aviva Stadium," he said.

"This could be the start of something very positive for Edinburgh Rugby."

Edinburgh Topple Toulouse

Edinburgh became the first Scottish side to reach the Heineken Cup semi-finals as they toppled four-time champions Toulouse at Murrayfield.

The hosts took the lead through Mike Blair's early try but Toulouse went in front courtesy of three Lionel Beauxis penalties and Timoci Matanavou's try.

Greig Laidlaw's drop-goal and two penalties put Edinburgh 16-14 ahead.

And a late Laidlaw penalty sealed the win in front of 37,881 fans - a record crowd for a Scottish club game.

Edinburgh will now play either Munster or Ulster at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Saturday 28 April.

Going into the game, both history and form were against Edinburgh. Toulouse are the most successful club ever in the Heineken Cup, while the Scots were playing in the quarter-finals for just the second time, having lost away to Toulouse on their only previous appearance at this stage in 2004.

The French giants are also currently top of the French Top 14, while Edinburgh are second from bottom of the Pro12, the only club below them - Aironi - set to go out of existence at the end of the season.

But Edinburgh were in no mood to be overawed and took the lead after only two minutes.

Fly-half Laidlaw thumped a kick high into the 22, Toulouse winger Manatavou was unable to take the ball under pressure from David Denton and Blair was on hand to collect.

The scrum-half went over the line on his back in a tackle but was eventually ruled to have dotted down after a review by the television match official, Laidlaw converting.

Toulouse's power then began to tell and a hat-trick of Beauxis penalties put them 9-7 up before they extended their lead with a dazzling solo try from Matanavou.

There looked to be little danger when he fielded a high kick on his own 10m line but electric footwork took him through the massed ranks of the Edinburgh pack, before straight-out speed saw him outpace the cover to score in the corner.

The hosts had by this point been reduced to 13 men after yellow cards for Allan Jacobsen and Ross Rennie, but they defiantly cut the gap to only four points at the break as Laidlaw banged over a long-range drop-goal.

With Edinburgh back to a full complement, Toulouse then found themselves reduced to 14 men as hooker William Servat played the ball in an off-side position.

And Edinburgh took full advantage, with Laidlaw landing two penalties to give them a 16-14 lead with just under half an hour to play.

It seemed inevitable that Toulouse's greater experience would tell as the half wore on but it was Edinburgh who upped their game, dominating territory and possession but finding themselves unable to make the final breakthrough.

Toulouse managed a couple of desperate late attacks but the hosts had the last word, Laidlaw landing his third penalty as Edinburgh secured a historic win.

Edinburgh: Tom Brown; Lee Jones, Nick De Luca, Matt Scott, Tim Visser; Greig Laidlaw (capt), Mike Blair; Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford, Geoff Cross, Grant Gilchrist, Sean Cox, David Denton, Ross Rennie, Netani Talei.

Replacements: Andrew Kelly, Kyle Traynor, Jack Gilding, Stuart McInally, Roddy Grant, Chris Leck, Phil Godman, Jim Thompson.

Toulouse: Yannick Jauzion; Timoci Matanavou, Florian Fritz, Yann David, Yves Donguy; Lionel Beauxis, Luke Burgess; Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Census Johnston, Yoann Maestri, Patricio Albacete, Jean Bouilhou, Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, Daan Human, Yohan Montes, Grégory Lamboley, Jean-Marc Doussain, Clément Poitrenaud, Yannick Nyanga, Gillian Galan.

Edinburgh v Tolouse - Preview

Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley has made one change to his line-up for Saturday's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Toulouse.

Netani Talei replaces Stuart McInally at number eight as Edinburgh bid to reach their first semi-final.

Greig Laidlaw continues to captain the side at fly-half.

Toulouse name a strong line-up full of international experience with Lionel Beauxis and Luke Burgess forming the half-back partnership.

"It's a great opportunity for Edinburgh to show our wares and we have Toulouse coming, who are obviously synonymous with winning this competition and they're the most successful side in this competition so it should be a fantastic day," said Bradley.

"All season when we've competed in the Heineken Cup, there's some aspects of our game which are very attractive and very difficult to cope with by the opposition and there are some elements that we get caught on so obviously we've got to promote the former and reduce the latter.

"We seem to have got the breaks in the Heineken Cup. That sort of stuff is positive for us.

"We have a huge advantage in the sense that Toulouse are not travelling strong with their supporters."

Burgess told the ERC website : "The Edinburgh squad is packed with international players and we know it is going to be a really tough and physical match.

"Murrayfield is a great historical ground, known all over the world, so it will be great playing the quarter-final there."

Edinburgh: Tom Brown; Lee Jones, Nick De Luca, Matt Scott, Tim Visser; Greig Laidlaw (capt), Mike Blair; Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford, Geoff Cross, Grant Gilchrist, Sean Cox, David Denton, Ross Rennie, Netani Talei.

Replacements: Andrew Kelly, Kyle Traynor, Jack Gilding, Stuart McInally, Roddy Grant, Chris Leck, Phil Godman, Jim Thompson.

Toulouse: Yannick Jauzion; Timoci Matanavou, Florian Fritz, Yann David, Yves Donguy; Lionel Beauxis, Luke Burgess; Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Census Johnston, Yoann Maestri, Patricio Albacete, Jean Bouilhou, Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Louis Picamoles.

Replacements: Christopher Tolofua, Daan Human, Yohan Montes, Grégory Lamboley, Jean-Marc Doussain, Clément Poitrenaud, Yannick Nyanga, Gillian Galan.