Flying Scottish wing Duhan van der Merwe contributed a pair of tries as Edinburgh Rugby ran out 34-21 winners over Castres Olympique in the EPCR Challenge Cup at Hive Stadium on Saturday.
The 28-year-old, who scored the 9th and 10th tries of his EPCR Challenge Cup career, was a thorn in the side of Castres Olympique - who had inside centre Andrea Cocagi sent off in the early stages for dangerous foul play.
Fellow wing Wes Goosen, scrum-half Ali Price and outside centre Matt Currie also crossed for the Scottish outfit, while fly-half Ben Healy was excellent from the tee with nine points – three conversions and a penalty.
Replacements Wayan de Benedittis and Leone Nakarawa added second-half tries for the visiting French side, with Pierre Popelin, Geoffrey Palis and Jeremy Fernandez each kicking a conversion.
Edinburgh Rugby earned a vital five points from the victory, joining Castres Olympique, Black Lion and ASM Clermont Auvergne in a four-way tie behind Gloucester Rugby in Pool 2.
Edinburgh Rugby host Gloucester Rugby and visit Scarlets in January when the EPCR Challenge Cup returns. Castres Olympique, meanwhile, hosts Black Lion before visiting Gloucester Rugby in Round 4.
Scorers:
Edinburgh Rugby: Tries: Wes Goosen, Duhan van der Merwe (2), Ali Price, Matt Currie. Conversions: Ben Healy (3). Penalty: Ben Healy.
Castres Olympique: Tries: Antoine Bouzerand, Wayan de Benedittis, Leone Nakarawa. Conversions: Pierre Popelin, Geoffrey Palis, Jeremy Fernandez.
Teams:
Edinburgh Rugby: 15 Harry Paterson, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Ali Price, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Javan Sebastian, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Marshall Sykes, 20 Luke Crosbie, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Darcy Graham.
Castres Olympique: 15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Nathanael Hulleu, 13 Adrien Seguret, 12 Andrea Cocagi, 11 Antoine Bouzerand, 10 Pierre Popelin, 9 Gauthier Doubrere, 8 Abraham Papalii, 7 Baptiste Cope, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Florent Vanverberghe, 4 Gauthier Maravat, 3 Aurelien Azar, 2 Pierre Colonna, 1 Lois Guerois-Galisson. Replacements: 16 Loris Zarantonello, 17 Wayan de Benedittis, 18 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Baptiste Delaporte, 21 Jeremy Fernandez, 22 Vilimoni Botitu, 23 Theo Chabouni.
