Edinburgh broke a three-match losing streak as they powered to an emphatic 53-8 win over Benetton at the DAM Health Stadium in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
Coming into this game, Edinburgh had earned no more than two losing bonus points from their last three outings – away to the Bulls and Stormers, then at home to the Lions – and found themselves dwindling down in 11th place on the URC log.
By contrast, Benetton had impressively won three out of four games to surprisingly sit in sixth position, but on this occasion they were ultimately no match for a vastly-improved Edinburgh side.
Coach Mike Blair had insisted before kick-off that the fundamentals of their game plan remained sound, while the deployment of South Africa-born Duhan van der Merwe on the left wing was always expected to make an impact.
The British & Irish Lion certainly was an omnipresent figure on the night, but ultimately the result was founded on a far more robust and concerted effort from a cohesive Edinburgh outfit that finally clicked into gear.
Edinburgh largely dominated the opening quarter, and yet basic errors and some heroic defence from Benetton repeatedly frustrated the efforts of the hosts early on.
By the time the stadium clock ticked towards the 30-minute mark, the only points had in fact come via a penalty from Benetton flyhalf Tomas Albornoz, but there was a sense that the Italian team were only holding on by a thread.
Almost on cue, Edinburgh finally found a breakthrough as a sequence of slick phase play eventually resulted in an easy run in for lock Sam Skinner to score in the corner.
For all their dominance, Edinburgh would have been desperate to add to their tally before halftime and they duly obliged as Luke Crosbie dotted down from the back of a powerful maul.
Ultimately, a 12-3 scoreline was a far more accurate representation of the opening half, with 68 per cent possession and 73 per cent territory going in favour of Edinburgh.
A perfect start to the second half saw South Africa-born prop Pierre Schoeman power over the tryline from close range as the resolve from Benetton continued to wane in the face of severe pressure.
Moments later the result was effectively put to bed as early as the 47th minute after Van der Merwe slipped through a tackle and went over under the posts.
At 24-3, there was never going to be any way back for Benetton, but things only went from bad to worse from there as Edinburgh’s Darcy Graham, WP Nel and Emiliano Boffelli all scored in quick succession thereafter.
Before full-time, Van der Merwe added another try to his now ever-increasing Edinburgh tally, while another five-pointer to Graham added the finishing touches to a stunning victory.
SCORERS
Edinburgh 53 - Tries: Sam Skinner, Luke Crosbie, Pierre Schoeman, Duhan van der Merwe (2), Darcy Graham (2), WP Nel, Emiliano Boffelli. Conversions: Emiliano Boffelli (4)
Benetton 8 - Try: Toa Halafihi. Penalty: Tomas Albornoz.