Southern Kings 21-48 Edinburgh: Scots surge to victory
Last Updated: 01/12/17 8:09pm
Sam Hidalgo-Clyne scored a hat-trick off the bench as Edinburgh surged to a 48-21 victory over Southern Kings.
Three tries in the opening 19 minutes put Richard Cockerill's side in command in Port Elizabeth, but the hosts had reduced the deficit to six by half-time.
However, Dougie Fife sealed the bonus point and scrum-half Hidalgo-Clyne delivered a brilliant cameo display to claim 21 points in seven spectacular minutes.
Edinburgh lost against the Cheetahs a week ago but they were boosted by the return of seven Scotland internationals following the end of the autumn Test series.
Phil Burleigh, Simon Berghan, Grant Gilchrist, Cornell du Preez, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Sutherland all started and Ben Toolis came off the bench after helping Scotland to victory over Australia.
Edinburgh started brightly and Fraser McKenzie went over inside three minutes after some sustained pressure near Kings' tryline.
Then Cockerill's team crossed again just three minutes later when Viliame Mata sprinted clear.
Edinburgh lost Neil Cochrane to injury after 11 minutes following a high tackle by Schalk Ferreira. But the home skipper was sin-binned as a result of this challenge and Gilchrist touched down as Edinburgh maintained pressure following a lineout on the five-metre line.
Recent signing Jaco van der Walt took his tally with the boot to seven points to make it 22-3 but his dropped pass gave the hosts a lifeline and Harlon Klaasen capitalised to score.
The South Africans surged into the contest and Kurt Coleman's kicking saw them chip away at the lead.
Edinburgh enjoyed some pressure early in the second half but there were no more scores until the hour mark when Hidalgo-Clyne fed Fife to score following a scrum five metres out.
Hidalgo-Clyne then took centre-stage, converting all three of his own tries in the final 10 minutes, before Dries van Schalkwyk scored a last-minute consolation after du Preez was yellow-carded.
