Mark Atkinson reports from Hive Stadium.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:01Good evening from the Hive Stadium. What a game of rugby that was between Edinburgh and the Sharks.
00:07Not the result though that the host wanted, the South African side, pipping the capital hosts 18-17 at the death.
00:15Last play of the match, Makazoli-Mapimpi crossing in the corner to give the Sharks victory.
00:21Massive dent for Edinburgh's playoff aspirations with three games left of the regular season now.
00:27A chance they'll have to win all three of the remaining matches and they'll probably drop out the top eight after this weekend's action.
00:33A bit unfair, you'd say, on Sean Everett's team, given that they played some really good stuff here against a Springbok-laden Sharks team.
00:41They had 12 South African internationalists in their side.
00:44They brought physicality in spades, but Edinburgh fronted up.
00:47Jamie Ritchie in particular, absolutely magnificent in the breakdown.
00:50The Scotland flanker rolling back to his best form.
00:54Edinburgh actually played really well, given that they lost a couple of key players to injury.
00:57Wes Goosin failed late for this test, he couldn't start.
01:01And then Ross McCann went up injured, a big shout out to Jack Brown, who came on for only his second appearance.
01:05The 19-year-olds played very well indeed.
01:08Ultimately though, Edinburgh didn't take their chances.
01:10They left a couple of tries out there in the second half.
01:13And the Sharks showed their champion spirit right at the end of that tribe.
01:17They had a sell-out crowd here to completely deflate the Edinburgh support and their players.
01:23Sean Everett must get his players to regroup now ahead of that.
01:26Trio of matches coming up.
01:28They're away at Zebra next weekend, which looks the easiest of the three games on paper.
01:32Connett away and then Ulster at home complete the fixture list for Edinburgh.
01:37There's little margin for error now if they're to go one better than last year and finish in the top eight.
01:42After a gripping and often tempestuous contest here at Hive Stadium, it finished Edinburgh 17, Sharks 18.