The Magic Weekend was resembling a “Murrayfield Massacre” for Catalans Dragons, who were being embarrassingly walloped 30-0 by the champions at half-time before they clawed back some respectability during the sixth of a full round of seven engage Super League matches, in front of a combined 59,749 attendance over the two days.

If the crowds for the first year of the event in Edinburgh were in line with estimates, five converted Leeds first-half tries, in killing off the encounter as a contest, were certainly not foreseen after the Rhinos' travails in recent weeks. Since beating Catalans 42-14 at the end of March, Leeds had lost four of five games, but they found compliant opponents the perfect tonic in reducing their gap on St Helens at the top of the table to two points yesterday evening. Ultimately, it became a mixed bag for Leeds, who managed only one more try after the break and conceded three to the Dragons' salvage operation.

“We're a bit off yet,” Brian McClennan, their coach, said. “There are bits and pieces that are good but we're not sustaining it. That's what we're aiming for. If we can sustain the periods of the first half when we were good and get into that rhythmn for 80 minutes, we'd be a very difficult side to play against.”

Greg Bird's whistle-stop return from Sydney, where Catalans' Australia stand-off was bailed for sentencing next month after being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, ended in more agony with a hamstring injury, compounding the adductor muscle injury that also curtailed his movement before his withdrawal at half-time.

To judge from the images in the dressing-room, a downbeat Kevin Walters, the Catalans coach, said little to his team. “It was important that we played in the second half,” he said. “I didn't want the score to blow out and us to embarrass ourselves or the club. They did that, so that was good.”

Catalans were reprieved when Scott Donald had Leeds's first tryscoring effort ruled out for a knock-on by Lee Smith, but it only delayed their punishment. Vincent Duport appeared to have covered Rob Burrow's steepling kick into the sun, but he reckoned without Ryan Hall snaffling the ball from under his nose. Next Burrow kept ball in hand, scampering clear from Danny Buderus's simple dart from dummy half.

Defensively, the Dragons were all at sea. The few occasions they saw the ball, they invariably fumbled it. David Ferriol's mistake presented Leeds with their next attacking opportunity, which was seized by Kevin Sinfield in locating the unstoppable Jamie Peacock on his shoulder. It was 30 minutes until the French side got within sight of the Leeds posts, only for another turnover to be converted into a try by Brent Webb after Jamie Jones-Buchanan's dummying run.

From the restart, Leeds shipped possession wide, Ali Lauitiiti slipped Steve Bell's leash and Hall raced over from 70 metres. The game was over, but Catalans kept interest among the neutrals alive by scoring twice in five minutes. Kane Bentley profited from Matt Diskin's rash pass 27 seconds after the restart, but there was nothing fortuitous about Casey McGuire and Adam Mogg combining for Olivier Elima's try.

Had McGuire not juggled a potential scoring pass, it could have been an interesting last half-hour. In more forgiving mood, Leeds meandered through the second half, until Donald intercepted Elima's popped pass for the Rhinos' sixth try, before a consolation score for the hard-working McGuire.

The Super League jamboree will return to Murrayfield next year and the Scottish Rugby Union has an option to stage it again in 2011, although Newcastle was one of two English cities to send representatives to Edinburgh with a view to a possible bid. The crowds exceeded the first year in Cardiff, but were 3,000 below the figure for last year.

Scorers: Catalans Dragons: Tries: Bentley, Elima, McGuire. Goals: Mounis 2. Leeds Rhinos: Tries: Hall 2, Burrow, Peacock, Webb, Donald. Goals: Sinfield 6.

Catalans Dragons: C Greenshields; V Duport, S Bell, J P Baile, D Pelo; G Bird, A Mogg; R Casty, C McGuire, J Guisset, O Elima, D Carlaw, G Mounis. Interchange: D Ferriol, K Bentley, J Fakir, C Gossard.

Leeds Rhinos: B Webb; S Donald, L Smith, K Senior, R Hall; K Sinfield, R Burrow; K Leuluai, D Buderus, J Peacock, I Kirke, J Jones-Buchanan, C Ablett. Interchange: M Diskin, A Lauitiiti, L Burgess, D McGuire.

Referee: T Alibert.