Edinburgh crowd favourite Pierre Schoeman only played half an hour at Murrayfield but got his second successive man of the match award as the Conference B leaders held on to top spot with a gritty victory over Cardiff.
The Blues definitely deserved more than nothing out of the game as they defended superbly and unsettled Edinburgh with their aggression at the breakdown, but a third successive win in the Six Nations window was secured for Richard Cockerill’s side with Schoeman’s cameo proving decisive.
George Taylor scored the only try of the night from a charge down and it was that kind of game, little room to breathe for the runners with swamping defence by both sides.
Schoeman came on after 50 minutes to solidify the scrum, put in some thumping tackles and big carries, snaring one loose ball on the deck to get a key possession back and finally forcing the penalty that took Edinburgh away and clear.
Cardiff had won on their last three trips at Murrayfield and they showed again they like the wide open spaces by having the better of the first half everywhere but the scoreboard.
An early break by young scrum-half Charlie Shiel down the blindside augured well for the home side but instead the Blues gradually gained control with their aggressive breakdown work allowing former Edinburgh 10 Jason Tovey to kick them ahead with a long 40 metre penalty.
But straight from the restart the Blues’ full-back Dan Fish, a late injury replacement, tarried too long over his exit kick and saw it charged down by Taylor, the young centre regathering and scoring an unconverted try.
Taylor was off within five minutes with a shoulder injury and Tovey missed a much easier penalty chance for the Blues after a lineout infringement.
Simon Hickey had hit the post with the earlier conversion and did the same with a penalty shot well within his usual range, but it was third time lucky from closer in with another penalty when Cardiff were over-enthusiastic trying to turn over more ball.
Tovey’s second penalty in added time at the break got the Blues back to within two points, and the visitors’ confidence was visibly growing as they continued to dominate possession in the second half.
But they couldn’t score in a long spell inside the Edinburgh half and Schoeman arrived to change the game in Edinburgh’s favour.
His big tackle knocked Tovey out of the game and then he won two penalties at the scrum only for Hickey’s second miss to let the visitors keep it at a two-point deficit.
Cardiff’s defence creaked but held firm against cross-kicks aimed at Eroni Sau and Duhan van der Merwe, but eventually Hickey’s second successful penalty finally provided the first points after half an hour of the second half, as Edinburgh got some momentum in the opposition 22.
Strong defence kept the Blues at bay and a breakout saw Schoeman – of course – win the holding on penalty that Hickey kicked to clinch the win.
Edinburgh: D Hoyland; E Sau, J Johnstone, G Taylor, D van der Merwe; S Hickey, G Shiel; J Bhatti, M Willemse, S Berghan; L Carmichael, G Gilchrist (capt); N Haining, L Crosbie, V Mata.
Replacements: C Fenton, P Schoeman for Bhatti 46, P Ceccarelli for Berghan 51, S Thomson for Gilchrist 60, J Barclay for Mata 60, H Pyrgos for Shiel 56, J van der Walt for Hoyland 63, C Dean for Taylor 19.
Cardiff Blues: D Fish; J Harries, G Smith, M Llewellyn, A Summerhill; J Tovey, L Jones; B Thyer, K Dacey, D Arhip; S Davies, R Thornton; J Turnbull, O Robinson, W Boyde.
Replacements: K Myhill for Dacey , C Domachowski for Thyer 70, K Assiratti for Arhip 60, B Murphy for S Davies 67, N Williams for Turnbull 70, I Davies for Tovey 49.
Ref: G Clancy (IRFU)
