The Dragons’ hopes of securing automatic Heineken Cup qualification are left on tender-hooks after a second-half capitulation in the Scottish capital.
This hammering now puts the Scarlets – a point clear and also a game in hand – back in pole position to gain the third Welsh region qualifying spot for a place in next season’s premier European competition.
And Dragons coach Turner pulled no punches in his damning verdict at Murrayfield as his men must beat Leinster next weekend to avoid a Magners League play-off in Italy later this month. Turner said: “Our execution and accuracy was extremely poor but to give away two intercept tries in the last five minutes was shocking and a complete joke.
“We are tactically naïve and our own worst enemies. We seem to panic and we’ve got the deserved end result.
“There was no composure and guile and Edinburgh were able to make the score look ridiculous. That’s four intercept tries in a week and I’m horrified by that. I wanted explanations in the dressing room because I could have lived with 29-3 – but to throw away 14 points at the end is unacceptable and rubbish.
“I didn’t feel it was a thrashing but the players only have themselves to blame for making the scoreline turn into a walloping – and they have been told.”
The Dragons got off to a perfect start when young gun Jason Tovey booted home a second minute penalty. But Scotland goal-kicking ace Chris Paterson booted the hosts into a 9-3 interval lead on the road to an excellent 28-point tally in front of British Lions attack coach Rob Howley.
And in horrendous conditions, the floodgates opened in the second period as Edinburgh ran riot thanks to tries from replacements John Houston and Ben Meyer before Paterson and Ben Cairns grabbed the cheapest of intercepts to inflict humiliation on the Gwent region.
Turner said: It’s a big opportunity missed but it’s down to us. I felt the game was within our grasp at 9-3. We should have taken a drop goal and it would have been game on but we didn’t take our opportunities and turn possession into points – and they did.
“Edinburgh are a good side but there’s no way they are 40 points better than us. “We’ve let ourselves down and the way we collapsed really worries me. We were really flaky and that has to change. Yes, we are missing experience and direction in the backline although I felt Jason had a reasonable game.
“We have to reverse this result next week. But we’ve left so many points on the table during the course of the table I’m not sure if we deserve to finish as the third Welsh region.
“We had to come away with at least a losing bonus point but now we have to beat Leinster with a bonus point and hope the Scarlets fail to win any of their last two games. It’s difficult and in the Scarlets’ hands now.”
