Five penalties from Chris Paterson and a further nine points from the boot of Duncan Hodge gave Edinburgh the platform for a victory against the Llanelli Scarlets at Murrayfield.

Paterson and Scarlets fly-half Stephen Jones matched each other kick for kick during a first-half in which neither side looked like seriously creating a try.

The Edinburgh winger opened the scoring in the fifth minute, setting a pattern in which neither side could quite hold their discipline enough to prevent giving their opponents the opportunity to score. And before the half was out the accuracy of both kickers left the scores tied at nine-all.

One boot – Paterson’s – continued to dominate after the break with two penalties in quick succession. He was replaced by Duncan Hodge for the final quarter but the accuracy remained and two further penalties took the match out of the visitors’ reach.

Darren Daniel scored a consolation try for the Scarlets late on that Jones failed to convert. But Hodge had the final word with a drop-goal two minutes from time.