AT the end, it was far closer on the scoreboard than it had been on the pitch. Edinburgh took a frightful hammering for 60 minutes of this Challenge Cup final, but in their first European final they came remarkably close to securing their first European trophy when the game took a dramatic turn 17 minutes from the end.
It happened when Gloucester centre Bill Meakes was red-carded for a high tackle n Sam Beard, his opposite number. As Meakes sobbed in the stand, Edinburgh fought back from a position that had seemed impossible, closing the gap with a try by Ross Ford.
But Gloucester held their nerve, held on to the ball and closed out cleverly. In truth, they deserved their victory on the strength of what they had done over the first hour, and Edinburgh probably surprised even themselves to be within touching distance at the end.
Edinburgh can now concentrate their efforts on securing the Guinness PRO12 top-six finish that will earn them a Champions Cup place next season. They had some flat spots here, but their trajectory is still positive. They will be a better side for their unexpected European run.
It had all begun with the usual cup final combination of breathlessnes and nervousness. The former was evident in one wonderfully bold break by Gloucester full-back Charlie Sharples, but the latter was seen in some execrable handling by the English side. In quick succession, Gloucester surrendered two promising positions as Billy Twelvetrees threw one pass straight into touch and John Afoa fumbled another.
Yet if Gloucester were the edgier starters, they restored themselves quickly with some wonderfully sharp and self-confident plays. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Greig Laidlaw had exchanged early penalties, but Edinburgh's poor first-up tackling left doors wide open for Gloucester to barge through, and they did so with pace and menace.
Edinburgh had been forced to make a succession lf last-ditch tackles, but their defence was stretched past breaking point in the 11th minute when Gloucester made a decisive move with the opening try. It began on the left, with a lineout near the Edinburgh 10m line, from where a clever switch move in the midfield sent winger Jonny May blasting towards the try line. Edinburgh had May covered, but Twelvetrees steamed up in support and crashed over between the posts.
Gloucester continued to make yards too easily for the comfort of Edinburgh's fans and coaches. but the Scots did put down a significant marker when they crushed their opponents in an early scrum.
But that was only the briefest glimmer of hope for Edinburgh, as the overall pattern of the game was set by Gloucester sending a stream of runners through paper-thin tackling by the Scots. When Edinburgh centre Sam Beard spilled the ball in Gloucester territory, May was off and running again, and it took a heroic tap tackle by Cornell du Preez to bring the England flier down a few yards short. In the panic of the ruck that followed, however, Anton Bresler picked up a yellow card, and the portents looked darker still for Edinburgh.
Remarkably, Edinburgh survived the series of scrums straight after Bresler's departure, won a vital turnover and worked their way upfield. Yet it said much about their first half that the game was more than 30 minutes old before they made a significant intrusion into the Glouceter 22. That foray won them the pealty that allowed Hidalgo-Clybe to cut the gap to 10-6, but it was reopened almost immediately when Laidlaw, who had converted the Twelvetrees try, struck his second penalty of the evening.
The seven-point difference between the sides at half-time unquestionably flattered Edinburgh but it could also give them hope. So, too, did another pulverising scrum just before the break, although it was too far out for Hidalgo-Clyne to add points with his penalty attempt.
Edinburgh's cause had not been helped by their failure to get their kicking game working. Hidlago-Clyne and fly-half Phil Burleigh both tried to give them field position, but the assurance of Gloucester's back three under the high ball meant the tactic gained little ground. In fact, there was a strong element of risk in the strategy as Sharples and May were never slow to counter-attack under the high ball.
Laidlaw pushed Gloucester further ahead with his third penalty, 10 minutes into the second half. Psychologically, however, it was probably just as much of a blow to Edinburgh when Burleigh sent his subsequent restart kick straight into touch.
That error gave Gloucester possession, which then became territory, which then became points when Ross Ford was penalised in a ruck. Staggeringly, Burleigh repeated his mistake by blasting his next kick-off over the touchline again. On an evening when Edinburgh needed every bit of luck that was going, they were heaping misfortune on themselves.
A chink of light did appear when Gloucester flanker Ross Moriarty was sin-binned for kneeing an Edinburgh player in the back. Straight away, Edinburgh set up camp on the Gloucester line, but the position was wasted with a knock-on as they tried to drive over from short range.
Yet just as Moriarty was starting his warm up, the match took a dramatic turn. As Edinburgh built an attack, Meakes hit Beard with a high tackle off the ball that was spotted by the tv official. After a couple of lurid replays, the Goucester centre was given his marching orders, but this time the card was red.
This time Edinburgh did take advantage. Against their 13=man opponents, they put in a series of powerful forward drives, and they got their reward when Ford dived low and stretched tp put the ball down. Hidalgo-Clyne clipped over the conversion and suddenly Edinburgh had the improbably scent of victory in their nostrils.
But it was not to be. Gloucester wound down the clock by playing keep-ball, cheered all the way by their magnificently noisy supporters. Edinburgh played their part, but the brutal truth of hte matter is that they came up crucially short.
Edinburgh: G Tonks; D Fife, S Beard (T Heathcote, 63-67), A Strauss, T Visser; P Burleigh, S Hidalgo-Clyne; A Dickinson, R Ford, WP Nel, A Bresler (F McKenzie, 50), B Toolis, M Coman (captain; S McInally, 58), R Grant (H Watson, 58), C Du Preez.
T: Ford
C: Hidalgo-Clyne
P: Hidalgo-Clyne (2)
Gloucester: C Sharples; J May, B Meakes, B Twelvetrees (captain), H Purdy; J Hook, G Laidlaw; N Wood (Y Thomas, 41), R Hibbard (D Dawdiuk, 70), J Afoa, T Savage, T Palmer (M Galarza, 41), R Moriarty, M Kvesic, G Evans (J Rowan, 68).
T: Twelvetrees
C: Laidlaw
P: Laidlaw (4)
Referee: J Garces (France)
Attendance: 14.316
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