By The Webmaster
November 16 2002

Edinburgh bounced back from their Heineken Cup defeat against London Irish to claim top spot in Pool A of the Celtic League with a commanding win over Neath at Meadowbank Stadium on Friday night.

A try by Derrick Lee just before the break finally broke Welsh resistance while quickfire touchdowns from Craig Joiner and Brendan Laney on the restart put the issue beyond doubt.

A scrappy opening period saw Laney score with a drop goal and penalty while Shaun Connor responded with two penalties for the visitors.

Sustained Edinburgh pressure looked like being resisted by a the rock solid Welsh All Blacks until Lee turned on the style seconds before the interval.

The full-back was at his twinkle-toed best in wrong footing two Neath players before nipping in under the posts to give Laney an easy conversion.

It proved a crucial breakthrough as the Gunners came storming out on the restart to completely seize the initiative with two stunning scores.

In 42 minutes forwards and backs combined brilliantly for Craig Joiner to burst through two despairing tackles and complete a move which seemed to come straight from the training ground.

Joiner was involved again three minutes later when he exchanged passes with the inspirational Lee who then gave a perfectly timed delivery to Laney who scored under the posts.

Both scores were converted by the powerful centre as Edinburgh opened up a 21-point advantage.

The home side were guilty of easing off in the latter stages and Neath cashed-in to grab a try when prop Duncan Jones plunged over and replacement stand-off Matthew Jones converted.

However, it was no more than a consolation for the visitors.

Home coach Frank Hadden, whose side will now enjoy a home tie in the quarter-final, said: "A sloppy last quarter should not hide the outstanding rugby which went before, considering the conditions."

Teams

Edinburgh: Lee, Sharman, Laney, Dickson, Joiner, Hodge, Burns, Jacobsen, Hall, Smith, Hines, Murray, Blackadder, Leslie, Taylor.

Not Used: Di Ciacca, Brannigan, Perrett, A. Dall, Blair, Shiel, Philip.

Tries: Lee, Laney, Joiner.

Cons: Laney 3.

Pens: Laney. Drop Goals: Laney.

Neath: G. Morris, K. James, A. Bateman, Tiueti, S. Williams, S. Connor, Horgan, D. Jones, S. Jones, Millward, A. Newman, G. Llewellyn, Jenkins, Mocelutu, Bonner-Evans.

Not Used: P. Jones, Storey, P. James, B. Williams, A. Jones, Martin, Tandy.

Tries: D. Jones.

Cons: M. Jones.

Pens: S. Connor 2.

Att: 3,171

Ref: Alain Rolland (Ireland).