Connacht14 Edinburgh 27:CONNACHT'S CREDENTIALS for Heineken Cup rugby via the Magners League route took a bruising in the Sportsground last evening.

After a series of rewarding results against Glasgow, Leinster, and Dax, Connacht simply could not retain that standard to bag a third home win on the trot.

And had Edinburgh not been more than a touch casual in the second half after bolting to a 27-0 lead at half-time, it could well have been Connacht's poorest league result in several seasons.

Instead Connacht added some respectability with two tries in the second half and went close to pushing Edinburgh for a bonus point - perhaps if they had kicked a penalty opportunity - but that only masked a dispiriting display from a side that only a few weeks ago were celebrating a rare win over Leinster at the venue.

Connacht could point to a tough three weeks of action that had stretched resources, but this fixture was certainly one too far; they were unable to deal with the physicality of this Scots, who until last evening were on the same number of points on the league table.

Up against that 27-point deficit at the break, Connacht were facing their first whitewash at home this season. Edinburgh used the wind intelligently, kicking into the Connacht half continually and forcing the home side to attack from deep in the hopes they would eventually cough up possession.

They did with increasing regularly as Edinburgh won the crucial battle at the breakdown, and Connacht only once broke through to their opponents' 22 in the opening half.

With Edinburgh's superior pace out wide - Connacht in essence had two centres playing in those positions - they made the telling breakthrough after seven minutes.

It initially came through an unfortunate ricochet off a Connacht player, but flanker Alan MacDonald was lightning quick to break through from halfway with prop Allan Jacobsen adding a few extra yards before wing Simon Webster strode in, rounding three tacklers in the in-goal area to touch down under the posts within eight minutes.

Webster, Mark Robertson - son of the legendary Keith - and the three-quarters were eager to get involved, and with the pack on top in the scrums and the loose, they were given plenty of opportunity.

Fullback Chris Paterson added two penalties and three conversions - the second when Edinburgh took a quick penalty after Carr was harshly pinged for not releasing, and when Paterson hacked ahead, he won the race for the second try.

With Connacht pinned back on the heels, and Edinburgh making all the running, the third try came just before the break when captain Mike Blair sold a dummy and waltzed through for an easy score.

Certainly there looked no way back for Connacht unless they dramatically picked up the tempo and they certainly looked more creative, particularly after Fionn Carr had found a gap through the defence before the hooker Seán Cronin was stopped just short.

Replacement scrumhalf Kieran Campbell followed suit but was penalised for crossing with the line in sight, but on 59 minutes Connacht got on the scoreboard when Gavin Duffy intercepted on halfway and raced in untouched.

It certainly gave the home side some momentum, and four minutes later Edinburgh, camped on the Connacht line, gave away possession through an intercept.

Andy Dunne did the damage before Carr cut inside to make it 14-27 after 63 minutes. Suddenly there seemed the possibility of salvaging something from the game.

With the wind behind them replacement Troy Nathan nailed a kick to the 22; David Gannon got his hand to an Edinburgh lineout, and a when the penalty was won Connacht opted to kick for touch.

Eventually the move broke down with a knock-on in midfield from Ronan Loughney, and with that went the possibility of a bonus point.

CONNACHT:F Carr; A Wynne, G Duffy, M Deane, J Hearty; I Keatley, F Murphy; J Lyne, S Cronin, R Morris; M Swift, A Farley; J Muldoon (capt), J O'Connor, C Rigney. Replacements: A Browne for Swift (20m), D Gannon for Farley (ht), T Nathan for Hearty (49m), A Flavin for Cronin (51m), K Campbell for Murphy (54m), A Dunne for Deane (58m).

EDINBURGH:C Paterson; M Robertson, B Cairns, N De Luca, S Webster; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; C Hamilton, J Hamilton; S Newlands, A MacDonald, A Hogg. Replacements: M Mustchin for Hamilton (58m), G Kerr for Cross (67m), J Houston for Webster (67m), R Rennie for MacDonald (67m).

Referee:James Jones (Wales).