Cardiff proved too good for Edinburgh in bursts (well, about two of them), but it may be too painful even for a cynical hack to talk much about the rest of it. No one left the Cardiff City Stadium in a very good mood – Cardiff because they were so bad and Edinburgh because they could not win, despite that.
The visitors lacked oomph with ball in hand. It is possible they may find those few metaphorical extra pounds at home, but on the road they will continue to rely on their ravenous appetite for defence, their quick wits and any scraps offered up by the incompetence of the opposition.
There were plenty of those here, but too few in the so-called red zone. Instead, Cardiff relied on the odd burst of pretty handling, the odd rumble from a big forward, the odd flash from Casey Laulala or Leigh Halfpenny and a particularly timely yellow card from the referee.
What they did not rely on, however, was the kicking of Dan Parks. One of the world's deadliest marksmen missed right, left and centre – four penalties and a conversion went astray from his boot – and when one of your most important points of reference suddenly disappears the uncertainty can sweep like wildfire through a side. So it was here.
For all their superstars (even if a few of them are reaching the more mature stage of their careers), Cardiff were a fair shambles for much of this one. Edinburgh may not pack the same punch, either in terms of superstars or cutting edges, but if you keep running at them they will keep tackling you. They have a lightweight but tireless back five of the scrum and know well the maxim that if you tackle someone hard round the legs he will fall over. Then if you can get the next man quick over the ball you can spoil the rhythm of even the best teams.
This was the story for much of the game, with Roddy Grant leading his side from No8 in the best traditions of the flame-haired Highlander. And barely a quarter of the match had been played before Edinburgh were 10-0 up, courtesy of that ever-reliable boot of Chris Paterson and an opportunist try by Allan Jacobsen at the back of a crazily overthrown defensive lineout by Cardiff.
But it was Paterson who was then shown a yellow card for conceding Edinburgh's fifth penalty (a bit harsh, that), and Parks finally found his mark before the Blues finally found their rhythm. Dazzling hands down the left and then right had Chris Czekaj over for the try that brought them level. Then more dazzling hands forced Edinburgh into conceding another penalty, which Parks slotted for a 13-10 lead at the break.
It took until 10 minutes from time for the scoreboard to resume activity, when Cardiff broke out from some interminable phases spent keeping out a toothless Edinburgh attack and started a few hit-ups of their own. This time, they managed not to spill it (or at least not in a forward direction), and eventually Laulala was worked over in the corner. Parks's fifth failure to convert nearly proved significant.
Because David Blair suddenly found a hole through that unyielding defence and broke to the line, whence the ball was whipped wide for Ben Cairns to score. Paterson did convert, of course, and the Blues had a nervy final few minutes to negotiate. They deserved every one of them.
