Duhan van der Merwe runs riot as Edinburgh see off Castres

Duhan van der Merwe scored two tries as Edinburgh defeated European Challenge Cup opponents Castres 34-21 at the Hive Stadium.

Edinburgh, beaten by Clermont Auvergne in their tournament opener, took advantage of an early red card for Castres centre Andrea Cocagi.

Wing Van der Merwe’s double highlighted the win, with Wes Goosen, Ali Price and Matt Currie also touching down, while Ben Healy kicked three conversions and a penalty in a bonus-point win.

Castres, despite Cocagi being dismissed after just nine minutes, posted tries from Antoine Bouzerand, Wayan de Benedittis and Leone Nakarawa.

Gallagher Premiership strugglers Newcastle suffered a second defeat of their Challenge Cup campaign, going down 35-13 against the Lions in Johannesburg.

Falcons’ South African hosts ran in five tries for a bonus-point victory, with Newcastle replying through a Freddie Lockwood touchdown, plus two penalties and a conversion from fly-half Brett Connon.

The visitors also had two players yellow-carded in quick succession, with back-row pair Josh Bainbridge and Philip van der Walt being sent to the sin-bin.