Damien Hoyland’s second-half try double kept Edinburgh’s Guinness PRO12 top-four hopes alive as they notched what was eventually a comfortable 29-0 bonus-point victory over Zebre at BT Murrayfield.

Zebre’s losing streak now stands at seven games but their hosts maintained an impeccable record that hasn’t seen them lose a home match in any competition to an opponent other than an Irish province since April 2014.

A five-point haul for Alan Solomons’ troops looked like a pipe dream following an error-strewn first half that saw Jason Tovey’s long-range penalty as the only score.

But Edinburgh pulled away after the break as Hoyland’s quickfire double gave them some breathing space. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne then took advantage of tiring Zebre legs before, with the last play of the game, Alex Toolis dotted down for the bonus point to see his side climb to fifth in the Guinness PRO12 table.

Zebre had beaten their Scottish opponents 19-11 at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi back in October and started strongly, setting up camp in and around the Edinburgh 22.

A series of big rolling mauls moved them towards the tryline but the hosts held firm and took the lead on the quarter-hour mark as the on-loan Tovey slotted a long penalty from halfway.

Tovey, who only joined the club temporarily last week, maintained the pressure on Zebre with some pinpoint kicking from hand and Edinburgh thought they had extended their lead on 21 minutes as Mike Allen dotted down, only for the TMO to rule there had been a forward pass in the build-up.

That’s how you do it! Last weekend, Newport Gwent Dragons Hallam Amos continued is hot streak with a professional kick and run try.Despite his derby heroics, the Dragons were narrowly beaten 20-26 by Ospreys Rugby in Round 19 of #GUINNESSPRO12.

Posted by Pro12 Rugby on Thursday, April 7, 2016

Further chances went begging for the home side thanks to loose passes and sloppy handling but the Italians failed to turn any of their territory into points.

Zebre were unable to score a single point in their previous three away matches – defeats to Munster, Ulster and Leinster – but thought they had ended that unwanted streak when hooker Oliviero Fabiani darted over on the stroke of half-time, only for the try to be chalked off for an off-the-ball obstruction.

Last year’s corresponding fixture was a 37-0, five-try triumph for Edinburgh but a similar result looked unlikely as the cagey nature of the first half extended into the second.

However, on 51 minutes the hosts finally got the breakthrough they desired as Zebre sliced an attempted clearance straight up in the air, enabling Hidalgo-Clyne to put a grubber kick through which Hoyland hacked on and dotted down.

The winger then made it two tries in five minutes as the ball was worked wide and he showed his pace over a short distance to charge over in the corner.

Hidalgo-Clyne went from provider to scorer on 67 minutes as he burst over the line to move his side within one try of a bonus point that had looked unlikely when they were just 3-0 up at half-time.

Their chance of walking away with five points looked to have gone as time seeped into the red but with one final effort Toolis barrelled over the line to complete the job, ensuring they ended the evening in fifth place in the Guinness PRO12.

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