Late Try Seals Edinburgh's Win Against Zebre
Ewan Ashman scored his second try of the match as Edinburgh clinched a narrow one-point victory over Zebre, thanks to a late try from Boan Venter.
Tries for Edinburgh were scored by Connor Boyle, Hector Patterson, Ewan Ashman (2), and Boan Venter. Conversions were successfully kicked by Thompson (2) and Scott. Zebre's tries came from Alessandro Fusco, Simone Gesi, Jacopo Trulla, and Matteo Nocera, with Montemauri converting three and adding two penalties.
Hector Patterson marked his debut with a try, while Boan Venter's late score on the 79th minute secured a tense win for Edinburgh at home against Zebre. The South African loosehead prop powered over the line, and replacement Cammy Scott converted the crucial kick.
Earlier in the season, Edinburgh had lost to Zebre by a late penalty in Parma, and the Italian side had only recorded one other victory since then.
Match Progression
Zebre initially led the match after Alessandro Fusco and Simone Gesi responded to Connor Boyle's opening try at five minutes. Patterson then made an impressive first professional start by breaking through a gap to score from close range at 19 minutes.
Ewan Ashman extended Edinburgh's lead with a powerful try, but Giovanni Montemauri's penalty just before halftime kept Zebre within reach, with the score at 19-15 at the interval.
Early in the second half, Jacopo Trulla scored for Zebre, although Montemauri missed the conversion. The scoring seesawed as Ashman added his second try from a driving maul, followed by another Montemauri penalty.
With six minutes remaining, Zebre regained the lead when a long video review confirmed Matteo Nocera's try after the referee initially ruled no try.
Despite this, Edinburgh maintained pressure and secured victory when Venter finished off sustained attacking play late in the match.
Standings and Team Lineups
This win moves Edinburgh above Benetton into 12th place in the 16-team United Rugby Championship.
Edinburgh Starting XV: O'Conor, Graham, M. Tuipulotu, Thomson, Satala, Thompson, Patterson; Schoeman, Ashman, Blyth-Lafferty, Sykes, Gilchrist, McConnell, Douglas, Boyle.
Replacements: Richardson, Venter, Hill, Young, T. Currie, Vellacott, Scott, Brown.
Zebre Starting XV: Trulla, Faissal, Morisi, Mazza, Gesi, Montemauri, Fusco; Buonfiglio, Quattrini, Neculai, Canali, Ortombina, Ferrari, Locatelli, Licata.
Replacements: Klein, Hasa, Nocera, Krumov, Bianchi, Dominguez, Roger Farias, Lucchin.
