Edinburgh Rugby suffer agonising defeat to London Irish in thriller

Edinburgh suffered an agonising and dramatic 21-20 defeat away to 14-man London Irish in the European Challenge Cup.
Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn is thwarted by London Irish.Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn is thwarted by London Irish.
Edinburgh's Blair Kinghorn is thwarted by London Irish.

Olly Cracknell's converted try three minutes from time gave the home side victory to stretch their lead at the top of Challenge Cup Pool C.

Edinburgh are fourth in the five-team group after one win and a defeat.

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Adam McBurney and Ramiro Moyano crossed the line for Mike Blair’s team, with Emiliano Boffelli adding the extras to both tries, before Jaco van der Walt's penalty helped the Scottish side into a 17-7 lead at the interval.

Kyle Rowe's try was all the Exiles had to show for a spirited first-half effort but they narrowed their arrears when Oliver Hoskins touched down under the posts, with Paddy Jackson converting for the second time.

But Agustin Creevy was shown a red card for an apparent head butt on Jamie Ritchie while he was on the deck and Edinburgh, with the extra body, extended their lead to six points on the hour when Van der Walt split the posts.

But the hosts were rewarded for their late endeavour when replacement front-row Cracknell burst through a gap under the sticks and Jackson held his nerve to keep his 100 per cent conversion rate as Irish secured a last-gasp win.