Edinburgh made history on Friday night by beating Benetton Treviso in what was the first visit of an Italian side to Murrayfield in the Magners League.
Tries from Netani Talei and Kyle Traynor, and eight points from the boot of David Blair, took Rob Moffat's side to their third home domestic win on the bounce amid grim overhead and underfoot conditions in the capital.
The success takes Edinburgh to fourth in the Magners League table ahead of a temporary break in combat to allow for the international action. The club's next game is against Connacht at Murrayfield on Friday 26 November (kick-off 7.05pm)
Edinburgh were forced into two late changes for the Treviso tussle. Flanker Alan MacDonald was suffering from a stomach bug, and was replaced at blindside by Scott Newlands, with Stuart McInally coming onto the bench.
Tim Visser, meanwhile, reported a groin strain after the warm-up, so Lee Jones the Dutchman's spot on the wing. James King found himself among the replacements.
The capital club made the perfect start, Blair getting them on the scoreboard immediately with a well-struck penalty after Treviso were pinged for not rolling away. The visitors hit back straight away, however, scrum-half Tobias Botes landing a three-pointer of his own.
This concession was the pre-cursor to a frustrating spell for Edinburgh, who didn't see anywhere near enough of the ball to start playing the game on their terms. The quest for momentum wasn't helped when the hosts were forced into a 15th-minute blood substitution, Jim Thompson replaced by Alex Grove with Ben Cairns moving to full-back.
Matters improved somewhat as second rows Fraser McKenzie and Scott MacLeod took things by the scruff of the neck, at four different stages providing impetus in what was Edinburgh's first real dynamic move. There was an unfortunate finale, referee Leighton Hodges calling the hosts for holding on, but the lead-in at least showed Edinburgh the way forward.
Four minutes before half-time, they breached the Italians' line. A fine surge up the middle from John Houston set up an enviable platform from which to turn the screw, and it was that man Talei who did the ultimate damage. The big Fijian hit a great line to power through the final couple of layers of Treviso defence, and went over for his third score in as many Murrayfield games.
David Blair's conversion gave Edinburgh a four-point interval lead.
HALF-TIME: EDINBURGH 10 BENETTON TREVISO 6
Eight minutes into the second period, the home side touched down again. It was another forward who supplied the score, loosehead prop Traynor dotting down after good work from Jones and Newlands created a pressure point in the left corner.
Blair was marginally out with his conversion attempt, as he had been with a penalty shot a few minutes previously. With Botes having landed a penalty early in the half, Edinburgh's lead was six points at this stage.
Moffat's men dominated the third quarter without ever really bringing the game to heel. McInally, who came on for Newlands, impressed with a couple of typically direct bursts, but in greasy, gloopy conditions, a knock-on or handling error was never too far away.
A 65th-minute Blair penalty at least gave the home sides increased breathing space. The stand-off slotted over another three-pointer shortly afterwards to allow Edinburgh to see out the game in relative comfort.
EDINBURGH: J Thompson; M Robertson, B Cairns, J Houston, L Jones; D Blair, G Laidlaw; K Traynor, A Kelly, D Young, S MacLeod, F McKenzie, S Newlands, R Grant (capt), N Talei
Replacements: F Gillies, G Cross, L Niven, C Hamilton, S McInally, R Samson, A Grove, J King
BENETTON TREVISO: B Williams; L Nitoglia, E Galon, G Carcia. B De Jager; K Burton, T Botes; A Allori, F Sbaraglini, P Di Santo, G Padro', C Van Zyl, E Pavanello, B Vermaak, M Filipucci
Replacements: E Ceccato, M Muccignat, IR Fernandez, V Bernabo', R Barbieri, F Minto, F Semenzato, A Pratichetti
Magners Man of the Match: John Houston (Edinburgh)
Ref: L Hodges (WRU)
