Toulouse avoid Scottish shock

French giants Toulouse narrowly escaped a Heineken Cup upset against Andy Robinson's Edinburgh, as they emerged 19-15 winners in the Scottish capital.

Born-again Edinburgh moved to within a point of Toulouse in the dying minutes thanks to a two-try burst, before Jean-Baptiste Elissalde's fourth penalty put the game beyond them.

Toulouse had made their usual determined start but they soon discovered their relatively inexperienced hosts were not about to lie down and be trampled over.

A series of bone-shaking tackles prevented the Frenchmen from making significant early inroads - although they did seize a six-point advantage.

World Cup star Elissalde lived up to his reputation as one of the top goalkickers on the big stage by calmly and confidently slotting two penalties in quick succession.

Heavy pressure

The Gunners refused to buckle under the heavy pressure and rookie stand-off David Blair shrugged off one missed penalty for a dangerous challenge by kicking his next attempt to repair some of the damage.

Rattled Toulouse replied in identical fashion through the boot of Elissalde - and Edinburgh were to suffer more frustration in the build-up to the break.

Their gamble in kicking a penalty to touch backfired when David Blair failed to find the necessary range.

Then after a great run by his brother Mike, Irish referee George Clancy sparked the anger of the home crowd by ruling that Simon Cross had knocked on at a ruck in the danger zone.

Replays clearly showed that a Toulouse forward had illegally dislodged the ball from Cross's grip, which should have resulted in a penalty.

There was still enough time for David Blair to take another pot at goal but his effort dipped under the bar.

Despite the setback, Edinburgh were only six down at the half-way stage and very much in the hunt.

But Toulouse seemed to take full control with a well-worked try six minutes after the restart.

Jannick Jauzion released stand-off Gaffie du Toit on a surge down the right flank and winger Maxime Medard was perfectly stationed to accept the inside pass.

Conversion

He dashed 30 metres to the line, resisting the challenge of Andy Maxwell, to give Elissalde an easy conversion.

Instead of bowing to the superstars, the Gunners staged a breathtaking rally which set up a tense and dramatic finale.

Toulouse were reduced to 14 men when Elissalde was yellow-carded for careless footwork on the back of Matt Mustchin.

And within two minutes, Edinburgh took advantage as centre Nick De Luca nipped through a half-gap - leaving Jauzion in his wake.

The cheers turned to groans as David Blair's conversion bid drifted wide - but his misfortune did not affect his side's sudden momentum.

And with 10 minutes left, the tussle was burst wide open by another top-notch home score.

This time it was substitute John Houston who was in the right place at the right time to gleefully gallop in at the corner after slick work by Ben Cairns.

Another replacement, Phil Godman, took over the boot duties and obliged with a brilliant strike from wide on the left.

In spite of Elissalde's salvage act, it was his opposite number Mike Blair who was awarded the man of the match award.

And the home fans were left to ponder what might have been had brother David been in better form with the boot.

Edinburgh, however, can now look ahead to their trip to Leicester with fresh confidence.