Jamie Ritchie’s late try secured the bonus point for Edinburgh, and in the process created the ideal platform to build on when they launch their European Champions Cup campaign in Montpellier next Saturday. It wasn’t quite the polished all-round performance head coach Richard Cockerill was after, but he was satisfied that his team found a way to get what they needed out of the contest, and all the more so because they did so with a number of players in the side who have not had a lot of game time at this level this season.

“It was a great five points for us but disappointing we did not score more points in the first half,’’ said Cockerill. “We had lots of opportunities in that half and we had a wobble in the middle of the second half but came back to win.

“We could have scored six or seven tries in that first half but we dropped the ball, we ran into touch, we did not execute. That nearly came back to haunt us a little bit but credit to the players for the way they came back.

“We are creating a culture and environment where we are comfortable staying in the battle which we showed tonight. We just have to believe in ourselves a little bit more.

“When we get ahead we have got to put our foot on the throttle and kill teams off. We didn’t against Ulster and it cost us the game. It could have cost us tonight and over the last few weeks but thankfully it hasn’t.

“We go to Montpellier next week in the Champions Cup but we have to be a lot better. We are improving and it is a sign of how we are getting better in that we are not happy with that performance in victory. We can play better than that.

‘We have young guys though like Darcy Graham who I thought was our best player tonight. For a young lad he showed everybody on the field what grit and determination and a bit of devil can do.

“We go into the two European games with our eyes open and will go and have some fun and see how good we are against two of the best teams around.

Edinburgh took a fifth-minute lead through a Simon Hickey penalty, and the home team looked a great bet for the first try of the match when they capitalised from an overthrown line-out five yards from their own line to launch a break-out through the powerful running of Duhan van der Merwe. Hickey carried the move on before trying to feed James Johnstone with an overhead, basketball-style pass, but the centre fumbled, and the home team had to settle instead with another three points from the boot of their New Zealand stand-off after a ruck infringement.

The first try came in the 20th minute and it was Edinburgh who scored it when Ben Toolis rumbled over after a sustained barrage on the Cheetah’s line. But rather than ignite the game, both teams then seemed to go to sleep for the next 15 minutes.

It was the Cheetahs who eventually shook the match back to life when Rabz Maxwante found himself in space on the left touchline and pinned his ears back. Two fairly unimpressive attempts at cover tackles from Blair Kinghorn and Hickey failed to slow the winger’s progress, but van der Merwe did manage to get back and fell his fellow South African five yards from the try-line, but the ball was laid off to Nico Lee, who dived over.

The expletive which rang out at that point from the Edinburgh technical box at the back of the West Stand explained what Cockerill thought of that passage of play, and, perhaps sensing the wrath of the combative Englishman at half-time, the home players bounced back immediately, with Kinghorn sending the always lively Graham scampering over in the corner.

Whatever it was that ended up being said in the Edinburgh dressing room during the break, we can safely assume that it didn’t have the desired effect, because within three minutes of the restart they had fallen behind, after a long looping pass from Tian Schoeman sent Maxwante over in the corner.

And Maxwante was at it again five minutes later when he came off his wing and cut right through Stuart McInally, Grant Gilchrist and the slightly less culpable Kinghorn for his second, and his team’s third, try of the evening. Schoeman’s conversion edged the visitors into the lead for the first time.

A third Hickey penalty calmed Edinburgh’s nerves, and finally they started to apply some pressure, which culminated in number eight Vilame Mata picking up from the base of a close-range scrum and hustling his way over.

The bonus point was now within grasping distance but that frustrating tendency Edinburgh have of easing off when they have their foot on the opposition’s throat was evident again, with the next ten minutes spent killing time in midfield.

But, to their credit, they managed to rouse themselves for one final push, and they got their reward when Cheetahs’ replacement prop Charles Marais was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on McInally and Ritchie grounded the ball after a powerful drive from the resulting line-out.

Edinburgh: B Kinghorn; D Graham, J Johnstone, J Socino (C Dean 76), D van der Merwe; S Hickey, H Pyrgos; R Sutherland (M McCallum 58), S McInally (R Ford 77), W Nel, B Toolis, G Gilchrist, M Bradbury, H Watson (J Ritchie 63), V Mata (L Hamilton 74).

Cheetahs: L Fouche; W Small Smith, B van Rensburg, N Lee, R Maxwane; T Schoeman, T Meyer (S Venter 58); O Nce (C Marais 74), J du Toit (J Dweba 58), A Coetzee, J Basson (W Steenkamp 58), J du Preez, N Jordaan, J Pokamela, S Malan (A Nonkontwana 63).

Referee: M Mitra (Italy).

Scorers –

Edinburgh: Try: Toolis, Graham, Mata, Ritchie; Con: Hickey 4; Pen: Hickey 2

Cheetahs: Try: Lee, Maxwane 2; Con:Schoeman 3.

Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 3-0; 6-0; 11-0; 13-0; 13-5; 13-7; 18-7; 20-7 (h-t) 20-12; 20-14; 20-19; 20-21; 23-21; 28-21; 30-21; 35-21; 37-21.

Yellow cards –

Cheetahs: Marais (77mins)