Edinburgh 66-3 Brive: Scots run in 10 tries to move second in Challenge Cup pool

Freddie Owsley scored two of Edinburgh's 10 tries

Edinburgh dismantled Brive with a 10-try blitz to boost their chances of progression in the Challenge Cup.

The French side were blown away as the hosts ran in five first-half tries through Glen Young (2), Jamie Ritchie, Darcy Graham and Freddie Owsley.

The home side added five more after the break as Owsley, Ben Muncaster, Hamish Watson, Mark Bennett and Henry Pyrgos crossed.

The bonus-point win moves Mike Blair's side up to second in Pool C.

• Reaction & as it happened

Edinburgh's European campaign had already conjured all sorts of emotions. The elation of turning over Saracens, three-time champions of Europe, in their own backyard followed by the agony of going down at London Irish by a single point.

Brive are former kings of Europe themselves, but it's a quarter of a century since those halcyon days. They are not one of the French sides that sets the pulse racing in the current climate - languishing second bottom of the Top 14 - and they offered little resembling resistance in the Scottish capital.

Before the match, the crowd took a moment to show their appreciation to George Taylor, the Edinburgh centre forced to retire aged just 25 after a succession of brain injuries. The home support gave him the send-off he deserved.

In their first foray into opposition territory, Edinburgh forced their way over all too easily. Young blasted over from close range with the minimum of fuss, setting the tone for the evening.

If that was a routine second-row try, Young's second was anything but.

Brive scrum-half Enzo Sanga attempted to pin Edinburgh back with a little chip kick from the base of the ruck.

His attempt was blocked and immediately gathered by Young, and Sanga wanted the ground to swallow him up as the big lock romped home from halfway for a brilliant score.

Edinburgh were now clicking into gear. A sweeping move ended with Mesu Kunavula producing a gorgeous offload for Ritchie to dive over, and moments later Blair Kinghorn created space for Graham to race over in the corner. At 26-3, it was done as a contest.

Owsley, making his Edinburgh debut, previously spent some years sprinting for Great Britain at under-20 level.

The wing suggested he may have a footballing pedigree as well as he combined speed with a velvet touch to kick the loose ball ahead and win the race to score.

Owsley struck again as the home side picked up where they left off immediately after the break.

The speedster arrived on a beautiful line to collect Bennett's pass and once he was in space nobody was catching him. Edinburgh look like they may have a player on their hands.

Owsley showed a lovely sleight of hand to put substitute Muncaster over for try number seven, with Emiliano Boffelli curling over the conversion from the touchline.

The Argentine kicked beautifully all night in very windy conditions and his accuracy from the tee will be vital for Edinburgh on tougher assignments.

Watson strolled over to bring up the 50 as Brive once again ran out of defenders.

Bennett continued his excellent form by grabbing a try before Pyrgos added the final gloss to the scoreboard on a night where Edinburgh were on a different level to their feeble French opponents.

Edinburgh: Boffelli, Graham, Bennett, Hutchison, Owsley, Kinghorn, Shiel, Schoeman, Cherry, Williams, Young, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Watson, Kunavula.

Replacements: Immelman for Boffelli (62), Savala for Kinghorn (58), Pyrgos for Shiel (58), Courtney for Schoeman (49), McInally for Cherry (42), Nel for Williams (50), Sykes for Young (42), Muncaster for Ritchie (50).

Brive: Laranjeira, Muller, Galletier, Galala, Tournebize, Abzhandadze, Sanga, Thompson-Stringer, Karkadze, Ceccareli, Lebas, Zafra, Cerqueira, Giorgadze, Fa'aso'o.

Replacements: P Abadie for Sanga (56), Acquier for Thompson-Stringer (48), Thomas for Karkadze (48), Bekoshvili for Ceccareli (54), Ratuva for Cerqueira (56), E Abadie for Fa'aso'o (51). Not Used: Lacoste, Herve.

Ref: Craig Maxwell-Keys (England).