Five things we learned from Edinburgh's win over Scarlets

They got six tries on the night to complete a 43-18 victory but it was really only in the final 20 minutes that they showed their quality.

It was a poor start for Edinburgh who dropped one under the posts when they should have scored, and then Scarlets punished them immediately.

After good play getting forward, Vaea Fifita noticed Tom Rogers in acres of space out wide and the winger had a simple finish with Sam Costelow adding the extras from a difficult angle.

Edinburgh were seeing a lot of possession and Wes Goosen was commanding in the air but when they got into the Scarlets 22 they just couldn’t seem to finish it off. Firstly Goosen set up Matt Currie but he was tackled before he could cross the try line.

In the next move, Currie produced a brilliant offload to Mark Bennett who tried to find Goosen out wide but the full back couldn’t keep control of the ball and Scarlets were able to escape.

Goosen was the one who looked like he would get Edinburgh into it and it was him who scored their first try of the night. He was finding pockets of space easily and he did it once again and this time there was no stopping him as he touched down with Ben Healy adding the extras to level the game.

Scarlets edged themselves back in front through a Sam Costellow penalty from the half way, and then Gareth Davies got their second try of the night after Ali Price’s kick was blocked by Sam Lousi, allowing the scrum half a simple run through to score.

The triple sub at the start of the second half when Everitt replaced his entire front row probably summed up how disappointing it had been for Edinburgh on the night.

They had an instant response with Duhan van der Merwe getting on the scoresheet, Healy converted before he and Costelow exchanged penalties to keep the scoreboard in Scarlets favour heading into the final 20 minutes.

Matt Currie got himself on the scoresheet for the second home game in a row after a lot of patient play before he was eventually found by a pass in plenty of space to easily go over and score.

Van der Merwe had a try chalked off after a knock on before Bennett did get one in fortuitous circumstances after he attempted to set up the Scotland winger before the interception bounced back to him and he finished it off himself. Bill Mata got another late on to seal the victory.

Toony in attendance

Gregor Townsend was in attendance in the main stand and it might have been an opportunity for some players to impress and try book a place on the summer tour. There weren’t many players who stood out though from a Scotland perspective, and perhaps Scarlets lock Alex Craig was the one who did most.

Matt Currie was playing out of position on the wing and would have made the national boss happy, particularly with his second half try.

Currie on the wing

As previously mentioned, Currie was playing out of position but he certainly didn’t let himself down. He was one of the few who impressed in the first half and he stepped it up even more in the second half, even getting himself a try. He will naturally prefer to play in the centre and if he goes on the summer tour that is where he will be used but it’s another string in his bow and that can never be a bad thing.

Rotation struggles for Edinburgh

Everitt made seven changes to his team ahead of the game, including swirching out his entire front row and leaving international trio Ewan Ashman, WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman on the bench and he was clearly so unimpressed by the first half showing in the scrum that he brought them all on at half time.

It instantly improved and made a big impact on the second half of the match as Edinburgh got a bonus point victory.

Everitt’s five from five dream

Everitt had challenged his players to make it five wins from five and earn themselves a home quarter final in the play-offs and they delivered the first part of that with a much improved second half showing that earned them a bonus point victory.

The first half was a real struggle at times and so was part of the second half but they eventually got the scoreline they wanted.

But even with the improved second period, they will need to massively step it up going into the final four games if they want to achieve their ambitious target of finishing in the top four.

Goosen leads the way

Wes Goosen was the standout player in the first half for Edinburgh and really kept them going at a time where they were struggling. As one of only two natural back three players in the squad for the night there was some extra pressure on him and Van der Merwe and he definitely stepped up to the occasion.

He’s a key player at the best of times anyway but he’s stepped up to the plate at a time Edinburgh really need him now.

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen, Matt Currie, Mark Bennett, James Lang (Chris Dean, 68), Duhan van der Merwe (Cammy Scott, 72), Ben Healy, Ali Price (Ben Vellacott, 58), Boan Venter (Pierre Schoeman, 40), Dave Cherry (Ewan Ashman, 40), Javan Sebastian (WP Nel), Jamie Hodgson (Marshall Sykes, 56), Grant Gilchrist, Jamie Ritchie, Luke Crosbie (Connor Boyle, 68), Viliame Mata

Tries: Goosen (17) Van der Merwe (44), Currie (60) Schoeman (67), Bennett (71), Mata, 76)

Conversions: Healy (17, 44, 60, 71)

Penalties: Healy (52)

Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Tom Rogers (Ryan Conbeer 68, Johnny Williams, Eddie James, Tomi Lewis (Dan Jones, 73), Sam Costelow (Archie Hughes, 73), Gareth Davies, Vaea Fifita, Dan Davis, Taine Plumtree (Carwyn Tuipulotu 65), Sam Lousi, Alex Craig (Moran Jones, 69), Sam Wainwright (Harri O’Connor, 53), Ryan Elias (Shaun Evans 68), Kemsley Mathias (Wyn Jones, 53)

Tries: Rogers (5), Davies (28)

Conversions: Costelow (5)

Penalties: Costelow (21, 55)

Referee: Eoghan Cross

Attendance: 6687