Edinburgh top URC after bonus-point win over Zebre

Tries: M. Currie, Douglas, Bradbury, T. Currie Cons: Grayson 3 Pens: Grayson

Edinburgh went top of the nascent United Rugby Championship table as a bonus-point victory at Zebre made it three wins from three for Sean Everitt's injury-hit side.

James Grayson kicked a penalty to put the visitors in front early on, but after winger Malelili Satala was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, Italy scrum-half Alessandro Fusco put Zebre in front with the game's first try.

Edinburgh recovered from that setback though and retook the lead on the half-hour mark when centre Matt Currie crashed through a couple of Zebre defenders to dot down.

From that moment, Edinburgh never ceded control.

With half-time approaching, Fusco was yellow carded and from the subsequent attack, young flanker Freddy Douglas scored at the back of an Edinburgh maul.

The game followed a similar pattern after the break, with the Scottish outfit dominating both possession and territory.

Magnus Bradbury powered over under the posts for Edinburgh's third try and although Zebre's Giacamo Ferrari narrowed the deficit after Edinburgh's replacement hooker Harri Morris was yellow carded, the hosts never threatened to turn things around.

And in the final minute of the contest, another powerful maul allowed Tom Currie to score Edinburgh's fourth try and ensure they would take maximum points.

Zebre: Giovanni Montemauri, Mirko Belloni, Giulio Bertaccini, Damiano Mazza, Simone Gesi, Giacomo da Re, Alessandro Fusco; Sergio Pelliccioli, Tommaso di Bartolomeo, Juan Barboti, Matteo Canali, Leonard Krumov, Alessandro Ortombina, Samuele Locatelli, Davide Ruggeri.

Replacements: Francisco Minervino, Federico Pisani, Filippo Alongi, Giacomo Ferrari, Bautista Stavile Bravin, Patricio Baronio Gauna, Marco Zanon, Tommaso Allan.

Edinburgh : Piers O'Conor, Malelili Satala, Matt Currie, Moses Tuipulotu, Geordie Gwynn, James Grayson, Hector Patterson; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Callum Hunder-Hill, Glen Young, Liam McConnell, Freddy Douglas, Magnus Bradbury.

Replacements: Harri Morris, Jamie Stewart, Paul Hill, Marshall Sykes, Tom Currie, Conor McAlpine, Cammy Scott, Rory McHaffie.