Edinburgh knocked four times champions Toulouse out of the Heineken Cup in their Quarter Final meeting at a vocal Murrayfield on Saturday. The 19-14 win sets them up to play Ulster next, a first ever semi final for a Scottish side in European Rugby.
The home side couldn't have started better as they scored through scrumhalf Mike Blair within ninety seconds of kickoff. Flyhalf Greig Laidlaw kept things ticking over with the boot but they were later reduced to thirteen men when both Alan Jacobson and Ross Rennie were yellow carded.
Fijian flyer Timoci Matanavou scored an incredible try during that period, but Toulouse Hooker William Servat later received a card of his own, and Edinburgh hung on for a historic win over the giants fo French rugby. "We are absolutely over the moon," said Man of the Match, Laidlaw.
"The players put in a great shift out there. We struggled in the first half with 13 men but we managed to stay in the game and I think that won us the game."
Despite being sin-binned for a synical offence, prop Jacobson was ecstatic come the final whistle, citing the great atmosphere and strong attendance as a huge motivating factor for his team.
"It doesn’t get any better than this! It is impossible to accurately measure the effect the fans had on the contest – but it sure was massive. I told the guys in the dressing room beforehand that it was our big opportunity to make history and the supporters helped us do just that.
"The crowd were unreal, both in terms of numbers and the noise they made. We had some great crowds and great games in the past but this was another level altogether. It was like an international. In fact the noise was even louder – amazing," he added.
Toulouse attempted a late fightback, but with time almost up the home side were awarded another penalty, which sealed the victory. "I asked the ref if I could stand for a minute and kick it into touch, but he said ‘no’ so I decided to go for the post," explained Laidlaw.
"I still thought about blasting it left and dead, but they are huge dead-ball areas at Murrayfield, and I might not have made it, so I said ‘I’m going for it’ and fortunately for me it sailed through."