Edinburgh score nine in Kings win
Edinburgh’s start to 2020 hit cloud nine as the capital side ran in nine scores – six of those in the second-half – to secure a convincing bonus-point win over Conference B rivals Southern Kings at BT Murrayfield.
In an often turgid encounter, which saw play stop and start due to an abundance of penalties at the breakdown, the capital eventually showed their class with a flurry of end-to-end scores to add some polish to the scoreline.
The match elevates Edinburgh to the summit of Guinness PRO14 Conference B – three points clear of second place Scarlets – with the capital side now turning their attention the final two rounds of Challenge Cup pool stage action.
Pieter Scholtz’s early red card undermined Kings’ positive start, and despite tries from Erich Cronje and JT Jackson, home scores from Mike Willemse, Duhan van der Merwe, Matt Scott, James Johnstone, Eroni Sau, Dave Cherry, Charlie Shiel, Mark Bennett and a penalty try sealed victory for the hosts.

Edinburgh have now been beaten just once in nine in all competitions and leapfrog Scarlets at the top of Conference B, while defeat leaves the South Africans with just one win to their name in 2019/20.
It was a hotly contested start to proceedings at BT Murrayfield, and both Nick Haining and Jackson were subjected to big hits in the opening minutes as both sides looked to gain the ascendency.
Kings looked full of energy from the off and they were the first to get on the scoreboard when Cronje latched on to Jackson’s sumptuous cross-field kick to dot down inside 10 minutes.
But the visitors’ joy was short-lived, when Scholtz was shown a red card just three minutes later for striking John Barclay in the throat.
And the hosts immediately made the most of their one-man advantage, Willemse bulldozing over in his first match against his old side, with Jaco van der Walt converting to give Edinburgh the lead after quarter-of-an-hour.
Despite the momentum now seemingly in Edinburgh’s favour, the away side fought back valiantly, and Jackson restored their advantage with his boot after Lewis Carmichael was penalised under the posts.

With the half-hour mark looming however, South African star van der Merwe made his first real contribution to the game for Edinburgh, producing an individual piece of brilliance to evade the Southern Kings defence and go over in the corner for his fifth Guinness PRO14 score this season.
Just three minutes later, a glorious offload from Sau set up Scott who finished off smartly in the corner to give Richard Cockerill’s men some breathing space, but there was still time for Jackson to go over before the break to leave everything to play for in the second half.
But within five minutes of the restart Edinburgh had secured the bonus point, Johnstone being left with an easy finish after Blair Kinghorn had drawn Jackson into a challenge on the right flank, with van der Walt converting to hand the hosts a 13-point lead with 33 minutes to go.
With only 27 minutes left on the clock, the Kings’ task got even harder when they were reduced to 13 men as a result of De-Jay Terblanche going off injured, and despite battling bravely, Edinburgh eventually broke through for their fifth score with a penalty try in the 67th minute.
A yellow card for Aston Fortuin reduced Robbi Kempson’s men to 12 temporarily, and Sau capitalised with a great finish with ten minutes left, before Cherry, Siel and Bennett added gloss to the scoreline.
live commentary 7:45 PM Saturday 4 Jan 2020
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Edinburgh
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Mark Bennett
23. Replacement106metres made
17MINUTES PLAYED
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1COMPLETE PASSES
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Simon Hickey
22. Replacement0metres made
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Charlie Shiel
21. Replacement51metres made
17MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
19COMPLETE PASSES
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Luke Crosbie
20. Replacement66metres made
43MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Ben Toolis
19. Replacement0metres made
11MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Simon Berghan
18. Replacement12metres made
29MINUTES PLAYED
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2COMPLETE PASSES
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Pierre Schoeman
17. Replacement11metres made
29MINUTES PLAYED
1TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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David Cherry
16. Replacement15metres made
21MINUTES PLAYED
4TACKLES MADE
1COMPLETE PASSES
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Nick Haining
8. Number 849metres made
37MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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John Barclay
7. Back-row19metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
12TACKLES MADE
6COMPLETE PASSES
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Magnus Bradbury
6. Back-row57metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
4COMPLETE PASSES
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Grant Gilchrist
5. Second-row15metres made
69MINUTES PLAYED
10TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Lewis Carmichael
4. Second-row35metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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WP Nel
3. Tighthead prop3metres made
51MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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Michael Willemse
2. Hooker26metres made
59MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
8COMPLETE PASSES
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Jamie Bhatti
1. Loosehead prop5metres made
51MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Henry Pyrgos
9. Scrum-half2metres made
63MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
86COMPLETE PASSES
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Jaco van der Walt
10. Stand-off58metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
39COMPLETE PASSES
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Duhan van der Merwe
11. Wing80metres made
63MINUTES PLAYED
2TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Matt Scott
12. Inside-centre136metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
5TACKLES MADE
18COMPLETE PASSES
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James Johnstone
13. Outside-centre56metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
10COMPLETE PASSES
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Eroni Sau
14. Wing114metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
6TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Blair Kinghorn
15. Full-back85metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
0TACKLES MADE
13COMPLETE PASSES
Kings
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Courtney Winnaar
15. Full-back44metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
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5COMPLETE PASSES
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Yaw Penxe
14. Wing3metres made
57MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Sibusiso Sithole
13. Outside-centre0metres made
19MINUTES PLAYED
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0COMPLETE PASSES
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Howard Mnisi
12. Inside-centre19metres made
46MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Erich Cronje
11. Wing8metres made
69MINUTES PLAYED
11TACKLES MADE
2COMPLETE PASSES
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JT Jackson
10. Stand-off3metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
7TACKLES MADE
12COMPLETE PASSES
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Stefan Ungerer
9. Scrum-half6metres made
55MINUTES PLAYED
3TACKLES MADE
43COMPLETE PASSES
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Schalk Ferreira
1. Loosehead prop15metres made
40MINUTES PLAYED
8TACKLES MADE
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Jacques Du Toit
2. Hooker2metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
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Pieter Scholtz
3. Tighthead prop0metres made
12MINUTES PLAYED
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Jerry Sexton
4. Second-row3metres made
60MINUTES PLAYED
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2COMPLETE PASSES
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Aston Fortuin
5. Second-row2metres made
70MINUTES PLAYED
14TACKLES MADE
3COMPLETE PASSES
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Ruan Lerm
6. Back-row15metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
14TACKLES MADE
0COMPLETE PASSES
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Thembelani Bholi
7. Back-row25metres made
55MINUTES PLAYED
9TACKLES MADE
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Elrigh Louw
8. Number 820metres made
80MINUTES PLAYED
23TACKLES MADE
5COMPLETE PASSES
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Alandre van Rooyen
16. Replacement0metres made
27MINUTES PLAYED
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Xandre Vos
17. Replacement4metres made
40MINUTES PLAYED
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De-Jay Terblanche
18. Replacement1metres made
34MINUTES PLAYED
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John-Charles Astle
19. Replacement2metres made
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Bobby de Wee
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Theo Maree
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Bader-Werner Pretorius
22. Replacement16metres made
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Andell Loubster
23. Replacement2metres made
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