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M. Currie (19'), M. Tuipulotu (46'), H. Patterson (50', 64'), G. Gwynn (73')
Tries
B. Hlekani (56')
J. Grayson (47', 51'), C. Scott (74')
Conversions
C. Smith (57')
Penalties
C. Smith (33')
This told us more about shape and selection than spark. Edinburgh looked like a side that knows exactly what it wants to be at Hive: kick long and contest, own the lineout, keep teams playing out of the corners. With a settled tight five, a coherent midfield and the welcome return of Duhan van der Merwe, the hosts penned the Lions into their own half often enough that the mistakes came. When they did, Edinburgh were ruthless after the break.
Sean Everitt had flagged Duhan’s sharpness in the week — “He’s been our star performer at training…” — and the selection alone changed the picture for the Lions’ backfield even if the wing’s night ended after 18 minutes. The real levers, though, were structural. Ewan Ashman hit everything, Grant Gilchrist and Glen Young ran a clean, boringly effective menu, and James Grayson put the ball where his chasers could hunt. That’s why Edinburgh controlled the map and, ultimately, the tempo.
The visitors arrived on a short turnaround from a bruising fortnight and with a mixed-up spine — new 9–10 and a rejigged back row — and it showed most painfully at the set piece. Their lineout misfired, killing what little field position they manufactured. You don’t beat this Edinburgh side if you can’t launch. The Lions couldn’t.
Edinburgh’s lead never felt built on fireworks. It was built on repeat entries and a refusal to let the Lions breathe. The first-half pattern — Grayson’s long exits, hard kick-chase from Geordie Gwynn and Piers O’Conor, and a midfield that rarely lost the gain line — set the trap. The second half sprung it. Mosese Tuipulotu and then Hector Patterson scored in quick succession because the Lions had been marched back, forced to defend multi-phase on their own 22 after another clean take from Ashman and a tidy, direct carry set from the back row.
The contest did flicker when Bathobele Hlekani finally got the Lions some front-foot ball and finished from close-in, a nod to the energy he and Francke Horn can generate when they actually receive clean ball. But it was only a flash. Edinburgh resumed their pattern immediately, and Patterson’s second came from the same blend of short-field pressure and support lines that had the Lions scrambling all night. When Gwynn cut in off his wing to finish, it felt like a reward for a kick-chase shift that rarely relented.
Look under the bonnet and the result makes sense. Edinburgh owned possession and, more importantly, where that possession lived. They were squeaky at times with the ball — the error count won’t thrill Everitt — but they gave up only six penalties and never ceded the aerial battle for long. The Lions conceded 10 penalties and bled lineouts. That’s the territory-and-tempo story in two numbers.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
Individuals mattered inside that framework. Matt Currie was excellent: his first-half try came off a smart angle and he kept finding metres after contact, punching through for over 100. Tuipulotu brought ballast and a nose for the soft shoulder, while Magnus Bradbury, Tom Currie and Liam McConnell knitted the plan together with work at the breakdown and in the chase. Ashman’s 15-from-15 off the deck is the platform this whole thing stands on. And amid all that structure there was still a bit of class: O’Conor’s counter from the back forced the Lions to turn and Gwynn took smart lines all evening. Off the bench, Harry Paterson added two neat assists after stepping in early for van der Merwe, evidence of depth in decision-making if not yet in out-and-out wing pace with Darcy Graham nursing a calf.
For the Lions, there were slivers. Hlekani kept carrying when it was already tilting against them, Horn tackled and tried to knit phases, and Chris Smith stuck a lot of his work without ever commanding the field. But the edges were loose — Erich Cronje missed too many tackles, space opened on the right — and the exits stayed messy. With a 9–10 pairing still bedding in and a lineout stuck at 65%, they were never getting out of Edinburgh’s vice. Add the emotional and travel load of the last fortnight and the fade after the hour felt inevitable.
Does the margin flatter? Not really. Five tries to one tells the territorial story better than any adjective. If anything, Edinburgh will kick themselves about 19 turnovers coughed up and a couple of sloppy defensive slips that handed the Lions broken-field looks. Those are live issues heading to Treviso, along with managing minutes for van der Merwe as he builds back and keeping the wing stable while Graham is managed.
The takeaway is simple. Edinburgh have a repeatable home template under Everitt: stable set piece, smart kicking, hard chase, and enough strike to cash in when pressure bites. It travels if the lineout does. The Lions leave with a clear to-do list before Glasgow: fix the throws, settle the halves, clean the exits. Until then, any side this structured will keep them in a box they can’t break out of.
