Edinburgh edge out Stade Francais 34-33 to make it to quarter-finals

Edinburgh 34-33 Stade Francais, BT Murrayfield Stadium
Scorecard

A late try from Solomoni Rasolea and a conversion from Blair Kinghorn proved vital as Edinburgh edged out Stade Francais 34-33 to secure a berth in the quarter-final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup on Friday.

The result also means Edinburgh is yet to lose a game in this season of Challenge Cup and have taken their tally to 24 points while Stade Francais are at second with 13 points.

The first half saw no tries scored from either side but scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne kicked four penalties in the first half as compared to two from Stade Francais that came from Jules Plisson. The visitors also suffered a setback when Jonathan Danty was sin-binned in the 25th minute.

After the break, Plisson kicked another penalty to reduce the gap to 12-9 and three minutes later Sekou Macalou also crossed over to bring the French side to a four point lead. However, his efforts were negated by a touchdown from Hamish Watson.

The momentum once again swung towards Stade Francais when Nayacalevu Vuidravuwalu scored a try with Plisson kicking a penalty and a conversion on either side. The response once came back strong from Edinburgh through fly-half Jaco van der Walt as he scored a try and a conversion to make it 27-26 heading into the final 10 minutes.

Stade Francais looked to have clinched victory when Giorgi Melikidze's try saw them leading 27-33 heading into the final three minutes, but Rasolea latched on to Damien Hoyland's kick to touch down and give Edinburgh a lifeline and Kinghorn's subsequent conversion earned the hosts a dramatic one-point win.