Capital effort as Edinburgh see off strong Scarlets side

But bad news as Scotland hopeful stretchered off with head injury

EDINBURGH 31 SCARLETS 21

Blade Thomson’s hopes of a Scotland debut in the Autumn Tests were thrown into doubt after he was stretchered off at Murrayfield last night.

The Scarlets star suffered suspected concussion in the early stages as Edinburgh kick-started their Pro14 glory bid with a full haul of points.

Now national boss Gregor Townsend will have to wait to find out the extent of the problem.

The capital outfit had looked the more urgent side from the outset and Duhan van der Merwe thought he had bagged a touchdown.

The referee ruled he hadn’t grounded it properly – but almost immediately they did take the lead with a Bill Mata effort, converted by Simon Hickey from out wide.

Thomson’s departure didn’t affect the Scarlets’ rhythm and they drew level with a converted Morgan Williams score.

But the home response was quick and lethal as Tom Brown went over for their second try.

And Brown celebrated his comeback from injury by completing his double before the interval.

However it was the visitors who ended the half on a high, thanks to a touchdown from Paul Asquith.

Edinburgh suffered a double setback after the restart, losing Hickey to the sinbin and allowing Johnny McNicholl to snatch another Scarlets score to edge them ahead.

The frantic action continued with Pierre Schoeman restoring the Scots’ advantage.

And Mata completed his double to make sure.

Boss Richard Cockerill tagged Edinburgh’s win as the best he has had since he joined the club.

He said: “I am really proud of the lads – especially in light of the fact we were without more than 20 main players.

“They have had a very tough couple of weeks, including the loss to Zebre in Italy. This was a hugely positive performance – it was the best result we have had since I arrived.

“These lads are starting to find some real resilience.”

Picture: SNS. Bill Mata is tackled by Scarlets’ David Bulbring.