Rabz Maxwane hat-trick powers Lions to big URC win over Edinburgh

Following narrow defeats to Leinster and Bulls, Edinburgh are still looking for their first win of the campaign after coming off second best in Johannesburg, and despite a rally in the second half, they never got close to the Currie Cup finalists.

Kade Wolhuter sent over an early penalty and Quan Horn, Maxwane and Edwill van der Merwe crossed for tries with Wolhuter converting two as the hosts raced into a 22-0 lead by the midway point of the opening half.

Rynhardt Jonker, Maxwane, Franke Horn and Van der Merwe added further tries with another three Wolhuter conversions sending the Lions into the break 48-0 ahead - the biggest half-time advantage that the United Rugby Championship had seen.

Edinburgh briefly rallied after the interval as Grant Gilchrist, Paddy Harrison and Ben Muncaster crossed with Ben Healy converting two and Ross Thompson the other.

But Maxwane completed his hat-trick nine minutes from the hooter to wrap up a comprehensive victory for Lions, who find themselves in the top four on the URC table after a full haul of 10 points from their first two games of the season.

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