SAM Hidalgo-Clyne came off the bench to bag a hat-trick and set up another try as Edinburgh surged to a 48-21 victory over Southern Kings.

Three tries in the opening 19 minutes put Richard Cockerill’s side in command in Port Elizabeth but the hosts reduced the deficit to six by half-time.

However, Dougie Fife sealed the bonus point and scrum-half Hidalgo-Clyne delivered a fine cameo display to claim 21 points in seven minutes.

Edinburgh lost against the Cheetahs seven days earlier but had since been joined in South Africa by seven Scotland internationals with the end of the autumn Tests.

Phil Burleigh, Simon Berghan, Grant Gilchrist, Cornell du Preez, Jamie Ritchie and Rory Sutherland all started and Ben Toolis came off the bench after helping Scotland to victory over Australia.

Edinburgh started with intent and Fraser McKenzie went over inside three minutes after sustained pressure near the try line. Cockerill’s team crossed again three minutes later when Viliame Mata sprinted clear.

Edinburgh lost Neil Cochrane to injury 11 minutes after a high tackle by Schalk Ferreira which put the home skipper in the sin bin and Gilchrist went over as Edinburgh kept up the pressure following a lineout on the 5m line.

Jaco van der Walt took his tally with the boot to seven points to make it 22-3 but his dropped pass soon offered the hosts a lifeline and Harlon Klaasen broke away to score. Kurt Coleman’s kicking then saw them chip away at the lead.

There were no more scores until the hour mark when Hidalgo-Clyne fed Fife from a scrum 5m out. Hidalgo-Clyne then took centre stage, converting all three of his own tries in the final 10 minutes, before Dries van Schalkwyck scored a last-minute consolation try.