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McHaffie try gives Edinburgh 17-13 win over Stormers

Brooke Taylor
Brooke Taylor
Rugby Correspondent
9:16 PM
RUGBY
McHaffie try gives Edinburgh 17-13 win over Stormers
Rory McHaffie scored the decisive try on his home debut as Edinburgh beat Stormers 17-13. The result gave Edinburgh two wins from their opening two United Rugby Championship matches.

Rory McHaffie marked his Edinburgh home debut with the winning try as the hosts defeated Stormers 17-13 at Hive Stadium, maintaining their unbeaten start to the United Rugby Championship season. According to BBC Sport's match report, the 19-year-old replacement supplied the decisive finish before Edinburgh survived a final attacking lineout to secure their second victory in two matches.

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Edinburgh entered the game after a bonus-point win at Ulster, while South Africa captain Siya Kolisi was appearing for Stormers for the first time in more than five years. Neither side scored a try before the interval. James Grayson's long-range penalty gave Edinburgh a 3-0 half-time lead, with handling mistakes and stoppages limiting the attacking opportunities. Magnus Bradbury had a potential try disallowed for a double movement.

Liam McConnell repeatedly disrupted the visitors' possession, stealing three opposition lineouts in the first half. Stormers nevertheless moved ahead after the restart through two Yaqeen Ahmed penalties in three minutes. A strong breeze complicated both teams' attacking play, and Edinburgh had to recover from losing their narrow interval advantage as the contest opened up in the second half.

The hosts' first try came shortly before the hour and began with another Stormers lineout error. Replacement hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty collected a loose throw and then carried Edinburgh close to the line on the following phase. After further pressure, fellow substitute Paul Hill crossed. Grayson converted, putting the home side back in front with the first of his two successful conversions.

Stormers were denied a try when replays showed Wandisile Simelane had been forced into touch before grounding the ball. They then scored through Hacjivah Dayimani, who broke from a dominant scrum near the posts. Ahmed's conversion restored the visitors' lead, but Edinburgh responded with sustained pressure before moving possession wide. McHaffie gathered Grayson's low pass and beat the covering defenders to score, with the conversion making it 17-13.

The visitors still had one final chance after kicking a penalty to the corner. McConnell again intervened at the lineout, disrupting the delivery so that possession fell to Edinburgh. The hosts cleared the ball off the field to end the match, completing a win in which their replacements supplied both tries and their lineout defence stopped Stormers' last attempt to overturn the result.

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