Edinburgh run riot to re-write European records

EDINBURGH skipper Stuart McInally led by example as he grabbed a first-half hat-trick to help his side re-write the record books in Romania.

It was a baptism by fire for Timisoara Saracens on their Challenge Cup debut as they were put to the sword in a first half that saw Edinburgh score seven tries and build a 45-10 lead.

Wing Mike Allen began the rout with a try in the opening minutes and it was one-way traffic thereafter.

Edinburgh re-wrote their Challenge Cup record books as they notched their highest points tally (59), registered their biggest winning margin (42), scored their most tries (9) and most conversions (7).

There were also try hattricks, the first for the club in the tournament, from skipper McInally and No.8 Nasi Manu.

Jason Tovey converted six tries and Viliame Mata’s debut got better and better as he scored three minutes after setting up a score in the early stages.

Timisoara No.9 Valentin Calafeteanu kicked an early penalty to get his side moving, but a hat-trick from hooker McInally in a 20 minute period put the visitors out of sight. Manu then scored two to leave the Saracens, who had a try from wing Stephen Shennan converted by Calafeteanu, trailing 45-10.

There were only two more tries from Edinburgh in the second half – Manu completing his hattrick and a second for Mata. Shennan got the final score of the game five minutes from time.