A woeful first half from Edinburgh saw them ship seven tries and 48 points – a record in the many iterations of the United Rugby Championship – to a rampant Lions team, and while the visitors improved after the break, the South African side were 55-21 winners in Johannesburg.  

Rabz Maxwane helped himself to a hat-trick, while fellow wing Edwill van der Merwe scored twice in an utterly dominant display from the Lions.  

The home side made a perfect start, with Kade Wolhuter kicking a penalty with just two minutes on the clock.  

It got better when home captain Francke Horn picked from the back of an unguarded ruck before finding Edwill van der Merwe who took the Lions to within 15 metres. The ball was recycled, and fullback Quan Horn scored in the corner to give the South Africans an 8-0 lead inside five minutes.  

They had a second on 12 minutes, wing Rabz Maxwane rounded Darcy Graham to finish a counter-attack from Wes Goosen’s loose clearance kick.  

And they had a third inside the opening quarter after Edwill van der Merwe gathered a lovely kick from scrum-half Morne van den Berg after Edinburgh coughed up possession hunting a way back into the game.  

The home side wrapped up the bonus point on 26 minutes, Rynhardt Jonker slicing through the visitors’ defence after the Lions pinched an Edinburgh lineout.  

Winger Maxwane helped himself to a second on the half hour after an excellent break by Wolhter, who landed the conversion to give the hosts a 36-0 lead.  

Another loose clearance kick from Goosen was pounced upon for the hosts’ sixth, captain Francke Horn going over after another all-too-easy counter-attack.  

There was still time for van der Merwe to grab his second on another blistering counter as the hosts almost brought up the half-century inside a dismal opening 40 minutes for Edinburgh. The home side led 48-0 at the break.  

Grant Gilchrist finally got the visitors on the board four minutes into the second half, and when Patrick Harrison crashed over six minutes later, Edinburgh were half-way to salvaging a try bonus point from an otherwise desperate afternoon.  

The home side lost replacement prop Heiko Pohlmann to a yellow card and Edinburgh capialised immediately when Ben Muncaster scored their third try of the half.  

The home side were way off their best in the second half, but broke through the half-century when Maxwane completed his hat-trick eight minutes from the end. 

Here are five things we learned  

Edinburgh torn apart in defence 

The home side showed in their bonus point win over Ulster last weekend they are prepared to attack from anywhere. They were handed countless opportunities this afternoon, and took every single one of them.  

Experience has to count for something. This Edinburgh team was packed with international caps and they just handed chances to the Lions time and time again and were powerless to stop the free-flowing hosts.  

Lost in attack 

Edinburgh changed both half-backs for this match, with Ben Vellacott and Ben Healy coming into the team, and while they suffered late disruption with the withdrawal of Duhan van der Merwe and the subsequent reshuffle, they looked frustratingly short of ideas once they got through multiple phases in possession.  

When they did manage to retain the ball, Edinburgh were so deep in attack, their moves were all completed well in advance of the Lions’ defensive line.  

Outstanding Lions relentless  

Edinburgh handed the hosts opportunities time and again in the first half, but the Lions’ execution was outstanding as they ran in seven scores in the opening 40 minutes. 

Quan Horn and Morne van den Berg were superb at launching the Lions, while Maxwane and van der Merwe showed their class to finish their tries.  

A record-breaking day to forget 

The 48-point margin at half-time is the biggest margin in the history of the league in its many iterations, overtaking the 46-point margin Cardiff managed against Connacht in 2008.  

Sean Everitt and his coaching staff will have a serious job on their hands to turn this around in time to face Stormers at Hive Stadium next Saturday.  

Second half scant consolation 

The first half was so dismal, the game was long over when the teams re-emerged for the second half. The Lions were way off their best in the second 40 minutes as Edinburgh crossed three times to restore some credibility to the scoreline.  

They should have escaped with a losing bonus point, but Ross McCann’s wild offload with 30 seconds to play summed up a torrid afternoon.  

Lions: Quan Horn, Rabz Maxwane, Erich Cronje, Rynhardt Jonker, Edwill van der Merwe (van Wyk 63), Kade Wolhuter (Nohamba 33), Morne van den Berg; Juan Schoeman (Pohlmann 60), Franco Marais (Visagie 63), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (van Vuuren 60), Reinard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg, JC Pretorius, Jarod Cairns, Francke Horn (captain)  

Tries: Q Horn (5), Maxwane (12, 31, 72), van der Merwe (20, 39), Jonker (26), F Horn (35) 

Conversions: Wolhuter (13, 20, 26); Nohamba (36) 

Penalties: Wolhuter (3) 

Yellow card: Pohlmann (65) 

Edinburgh: Wes Goosen, Darcy Graham, Mosese Tuipulotu, Matt Scott, Ross McCann, Ben Healy (Thompson 61), Ben Vellacott [co-captain] (Price 73); Pierre Schoeman (Venter 57), Ewan Ashman (Harrison 32), Paul Hill (Rae 57), Marshall Sykes (Hodgson 67), Grant Gilchrist pco-captain], Jamie Ritchie (Dodd 67), Hamish Watson (Muncaster 55), Magnus Bradbury 

Tries: Gilchrist (44), Harrison (50), Muncaster (66) 

Conversions: Healy (45, 51), Thompson (67) 

Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)