Former Scotland captain John Barclay believes there is "something fundamentally wrong" at Edinburgh Rugby after their 55-21 defeat to the Lions in Johannesburg. 

Edinburgh shipped eight tries, seven in the first half, as they slumped to a 48-0 half-time deficit, a record in the history of the league. 

During his half-time analysis, Barclay described Edinburgh's opening 40 minutes as "an embarrassment".    

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And Barclay did not hold back in his post-match assessment of the game for Premier Sports. 

"To say what did we learn from that second half about Edinburgh, it's litterally zero.

"People might say it is a bit dour but it's a club with ambition, with asipirations and with a great history and you're losing 48-0 at half-time. That to me points to something fundamentally wrong with the team."

Barclay said there will be "honest conversations" about Edinburgh's performance.  

"It will be a pretty bleak trip home," he added. 

"A reasonably positive start in round one against a pretty strong Leinster and [they get] two bonus points from the game but you hoped when they went to South Africa the team might have grown and it's just not happened that way.

"There will be some pretty honest conversations about how to improve.

"You think in pre-season you've got an idea if you are where you need to be and you get a clearer picture after the first couple of games.

"Edinburgh are in a pretty bad spell right now given the nature of the first half.

"It looks like a complete lack of clarity in their attack.

"We spoke about their defence pre-game, it had been good then you concede 48 points. It feels like a big puzzle to fix at the moment. Rory [Hamilton] said in comms at 28-0 the coaches won't be panicking in the box.

"I think there's panic buttons being pressed everywhere at the moment."

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Barclay, who spent the final two years of his career at Edinburgh before retiring in 2020, said questions will be asked of head coach Sean Everitt.

"It is a results-driven business. Edinburgh have been very well funded, they've got a good squad and they've brought in good players.

"They are missing a couple of players but that team sheet is full of internationals and that's not translating onto the pitch right now."