Edinburgh punished a sloppy performance from the Kings to claim a 38-0 bonus-point win at Murrayfield on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
It was a horrific start to the game for the match-shy Kings, as Edinburgh flew into a 19-0 lead within the opening 10 minutes.
It began when speedy wing Duhan van der Merwe sliced through the Kings defence before passing inside to Dougie Fife to dot down for the opening score.
That lead was doubled minutes later as tighthead prop Simon Berghan and lock Callum Hunter Hill combined to bring Edinburgh into the Kings’ 22. The ball was then spread wide to Darcy Graham to finish off.
Graham then went over for his brace after a strong carry from Bill Mata sucked in a number of Kings defenders.
The Kings started like a side that had not played rugby in four weeks, but grew into the match as the first half went on and saw more of the ball. However, the visitors still struggled to create any opportunities of note in the first period, aside from a couple of mauls near the Edinburgh line.
However, Edinburgh still managed to wrap up the bonus point on the verge of half-time when loosehead prop Rory Sutherland muscled his way over the tryline after a number of pick-and-goes on the Kings line for a score that saw the hosts go 26-0 up at the break.
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The Kings needed a good start in the second half to get back into the match but did just the opposite as Edinburgh put them under serious pressure which eventually told when Berghan crashed over for the first try of his career.
A sixth try was added just after the hour mark as replacement hooker Cameron Fenton, who originally travelled to the game as a reserve, ran onto a pass from Charlie Shiel to go in near the posts.
The Kings put in a late show as they looked for a consolation score and came close when replacement prop Luvuyo Pupuma reached out near the tryline but lost it forward after the hooter.
Edinburgh – Tries: Dougie Fife, Darcy Graham (2), Rory Sutherland, Simon Berghan, Cameron Fenton. Conversion: Simon Hickey (4).
Edinburgh – 15 Dougie Fife, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 George Taylor, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Simon Hickey, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Callum Hunter-Hill, 4 Fraser McKenzie (c), 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Subs: 16 Cameron Fenton; 17 Pierre Schoeman; 18 Pietro Ceccarelli; 19 Ben Toolis; 20 Ally Miller; 21. Charlie Shiel; 22 Jaco van der Walt; 23 James Johnstone.
Kings – 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Michael Makase, 13 Harlon Klaasen, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Yaw Penxe, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 CJ Velleman, 5 JC Astle (c), 4 Stephan Greef, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Alulutho Tshakweni.
Subs: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Nicolaas Oosthuizen, 18 Luvuyo Pupuma, 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Berton Klaasen, 23 Ntabeni Dukisa.
Photo: @EdinburghRugby/Twitter
