In years to come, followers of the Black and Red Army will remember the scoreline rather than the collective team performance served up by Edinburgh on a wet and windy Spring night against Connacht.

Despite an alarming high error count from the home side, Edinburgh still managed to take care of business, secure a bonus point and erase any lingering memories of the Scarlets loss in the process; it really was a case of job done. 

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In terms of being to translate chances into tries, Edinburgh were guilty of more butchering than a busy meat counter at a supermarket.

Chance after chance went begging and, at one point, a bonus point victory seemed extremely unlikely on the night.

But eventually Edinburgh found some rhythm moving forward and some slick interchanges led to Hogg dotting down underneath the posts with only seconds remaining.

To summarise, Edinburgh’s performance was far from perfect, but it was a case of mission accomplished against bottom side Connacht; a bonus point win and a passport to fourth place, albeit temporarily.

Edinburgh started off with real purpose, but some off-key execution and uncharacteristic handling errors blighted any serious headway being made.

Against the run of play, Connacht were awarded a penalty, but Ian Keatley’s penalty was woefully off target, although the windswept conditions played a part in his inaccurate attempt at goal.

Matt Mustchin, just back from an ankle operation, was prematurely called into action when Alan MacDonald was forced off to have stitches to a head wound – bizarrely caused by the boot of back-row team-mate Scott Newlands.

The Kiwi-born Scotland utility forward applied himself superbly and produced another body-on-the-line display to ensure Edinburgh had the upper hand at the breakdown.

On 21 minutes, Edinburgh eventually seized control when rookie prop Kyle Traynor drove the ball over the whitewash from close range with the help of his fellow forwards.

It was a milestone achievement for the former Watsonians captain whose development continues to go from strength to strength.

Even in the absence of seasoned scrummager Allan Jacobsen, a long term casualty with a severe shoulder injury, Edinburgh fronted up and Geoff Cross, on his first return to EH12 since his ill-fated debut for Scotland, played with zest and determination.

Chris Paterson’s boot remained as accurate as the throwing arm of darts legend Phil Taylor and ensured Edinburgh kept the scoreboard ticking over.

But one of his long range penalty attempts fell agonisingly short only for the Connacht player to spill the ball under pressure from Simon Webster; prompting another penalty just yards from the posts.

After the break, Edinburgh stepped up a gear and Ross Ford showed his immense strength to score. The classy hooker opted to head for the line rather than pass and ran over his opponent in the process; evoking comparisons of the eye-catching score Sebastian Chabal managed against Italy in the 6 Nations.

After an example of brute strength, the next Edinburgh player to showcase their skill-set was Andrew Turnbull – arguably one of the quickest players in Scotland.

The diminutive wing set off 40 yards from the whitewash and accelerated past the Connacht defence with exhilarating ease.

His try was the highlight of the night and showed that his time away on the 7s circuit had not only sharpened up his attacking play but had also boosted his confidence.

Some clumsy defending allowed Connacht to score a try against the run of play with seven minutes remaining when Troy Nathan touched down.

But Edinburgh saved the best for last when Hogg finished off a thrilling team effort to enable the men in Black and Red to generate some momentum heading into next Friday’s home clash against Cardiff Blues.

Edinburgh: Paterson; Turnbull, Cairns (Houston), De Luca, Webster, Godman (D. Blair), M. Blair (captain) (Laidlaw); Traynor (Kerr), Ford (Kelly), G. Cross, C. Hamilton (MacLeod), J. Hamilton, Newlands, MacDonald, Hogg.

Replacements: Kelly, Kerr, MacLeod, Mustchin, Laidlaw, D. Blair, Houston.

Tries: Traynor (21), Ford (51), Turnbull (54), Hogg (79)

Penalties: Paterson (2)

Conversions: Paterson (3)