Harris lays the ghost for reborn Cardiff

Meadowbank Stadium has not been the kindest of places for Welsh rugby folk. Back in 1970, in the Commonwealth Games there, JJ Williams was drawn in the same 100m heat as Hasely Crawford, the future Olympic champion. The future Wales and Lions wing failed to reach the second round. More recently, Swan-sea, Llanelli and Neath have all come to grief in the newly adopted home of Edinburgh rugby. Last night, though, Cardiff ended the litany of victims from the Principality, raising themselves from the dead for a win which secured an all-Welsh semi-final against Neath.

It was an astonishing turnaround by Dai Young's side, who trailed 6-19 at the break after a first-half dominated by the Edinburgh pack. With second-half tries by Rhys Williams and Ryan Powell and 16 points from the right boot of Iestyn Harris, they stunned a 3,918 crowd. There were fireworks at kick-off time but only St Andrew's Day commiserations for the hosts at the final whistle.

Cardiff did not exactly go into the tie brimming with confidence. Indeed, with Gary Powell and Spencer John both injured and Ken Fourie suspended, Young, their 37-year-old coach, was obliged to break his retirement to prop at tighthead. His team did not make the best of starts, either. They were trailing from the 10th minute, Brendan Laney landing his first penalty, and struggling to push back the black tide of driving home forwards thereafter.

Edinburgh pushed their lead to 8-0 in the 16th minute, Scott Murray burrowing over after Duncan Hodge took a tapped penalty 10 metres out. Laney sliced the conversion wide but, as the Cardiff pack creaked under unrelenting pressure, the Caledonian Kiwi kicked two more penalties before Young's men finally put points on the board. Not that Iestyn Harris's 32nd-minute penalty brought much relief to Cardiff. Edinburgh spun the ball wide from the restart and Murray's fine long pass out to Derrick Lee allowed the former Scotland full-back to jink through on the right.

Laney again missed the conversion and, though Harris kicked a second penalty, Edinburgh were 19-6 up at the interval. They were on the back foot from the start of the second half, though. Harris converted his third penalty and then, with 52 minutes on the clock, Cardiff got their big break. Rhys Williams hoisted a clearance kick from his own half and picked up the loose ball in midfield, racing 40 metres to score under the posts. Harris converted, and all of a sudden Cardiff were in contention, just 19-16 down.

They were flushed with confidence, too, surviving a close call when Simon Webster failed to touch down a Laney chip into the corner and the temporary loss of Young, who was sin-binned with Martin Leslie for a bout of handbags in the 61st minute. Ryan Powell was fortunate to be on the pitch, having escaped with a warning after a blatant kick on an Edinburgh player, but the little scrum-half made his presence felt, picking up at the heels of his rucking pack to score in the right corner. Harris converted and, with 20 minutes to play, Cardiff were 23-19 in front.

Laney cut the deficit to a point with his fourth penalty, but in the final minute his fifth effort struck the right post. The crowd groaned again deep into injury time, Harris's fourth penalty putting the outcome beyond doubt.

Edinburgh: D Lee (C Sharman, 79); C Joiner, B Laney, A Dickson, S Webster; D Hodge, G Burns; J Brannigan (A Jacobsen, 65), D Hall, C Smith, N Hines, S Murray, T Blackadder (capt), M Leslie, S Taylor.

Cardiff: R Williams; N Walne, J Robinson, M Allen, C Morgan; I Harris, R Powell; P Rogers, A Lewis, D Young, H Senekal, J Tait (A Jones, 72), E Lewis (T Payne, 62-71), D Baugh, M Williams (capt).

Referee: A Lewis (Ireland).