Scottish interest in European rugby ended at the national stadium last night as Cardiff Blues claimed their eighth successive victory to reach the Challenge Cup semi-finals in deserved fashion.

In some respects this was Edinburgh back at their worst as the difference was made by their errors, most pronouncedly but not only when conceding the first half tries that proved decisive, albeit by no means all of them were unforced.

They have, however, already done considerably better than might have been expected in new head coach Richard Cockerill’s first season in charge and unhappy as he was with the handling and technical errors which contributed to their defeat, he suggested that this was an inevitable part of the process of them learning what is required to compete at the highest level.

“This team’s still learning. When you’re learning, you’ve got to lose… even the best teams lose,” he noted.

“How we deal with that, because we’ve had it our own way for a little while, is really important. So I’m disappointed with how we played, but there’s no point criticising them too much right now.

“We’ve still got some very big fixtures coming up and the season’s very much alive for us. Some individuals I expected more from tonight, but it wasn’t to be.

“We’ve got to regroup and show some mettle as a group of people, myself included. We’ve tripped over tonight and it’s disappointing but we have to get our game back on track for Friday when Ulster arrive. It’s as simple as that.

“We’ve got to learn as a team to be comfortable when there is some expectation on us. That probably doesn’t sit with us that well with us at the moment, but the more we play in these games and these environments, then we have to learn.”

His side had enjoyed a fine run through the Six Nations and it would be wholly unfair to suggest they have been any more inconvenienced by international calls than any other side. However, the influence of Blues flanker Josh Navidi served as a warning that they will be confronting players of a different calibre in the closing weeks of the season.

He was the outstanding performer at the breakdown and with his veteran back-row colleague Nick Williams using both brawn and brain to cause problems in the maul, with and without the ball, the visitors dominated the contest for the ball in the loose.

The Blues should have claimed an early lead when awarded a very kickable penalty only for Jarrod Evans to miskick his attempt as he was strangely to do with another at the beginning of the second half, but in between times the Blues stand off hardly put a foot wrong as he helped his team play the game in the Edinburgh half.

It was the home side who took the lead on what was perhaps the only occasion that Navidi got it wrong at the breakdown when conceding a penalty for not rolling away from the tackle, Jaco van der Walt duly knocking it over, but it was the Blues who lifted their effort in response.

A spell of pressure was duly rewarded, albeit in rather bizarre fashion, when an admittedly teasing Evans kick got Nathan Fowles into a fankle and the scrum-half, who had already been struggling, turned his back on the ball which bounced off his head and into the path of flanker Ellis Jenkins in the in-goal area.

Evans converted well and the Blues were soon pressing again and Edinburgh were lucky to survive when Kristian Davey dropped the ball at the back of a maul as his pack set up a drive from a close range lineout.

The reprieve was brief and once again a blunder contributed to the score, Blair Kinghorn looking to have things covered after Gareth Anscombe nudged a probing grubber kick in behind the defensive line, only to let the ball squirm from him like one of legendary commentator Bill McLaren’s Border baggies, Rey Lee-Lo gratefully accepting the gift, then off-loading to Blaine Scully who ploughed over from close range.

The gap could have been reduced before the break, but a rush of blood from Mark Bennett saw him tap-and-go with a penalty that was well within van der Walt’s range but too far out to offer a real prospect of scoring a try.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Evans’ second miss followed by van der Walt’s second successful strike, but the Blues stand off struck twice more before the home side managed to generate a sustained spell of pressure in the closing stages after a superb break by the ever dangerous Kinghorn took his side from deep in their own half to within five metres of the try line.

Ellis Jenkins was yellow carded for deliberately knocking the ball on at the ensuing ruck and, as Cockerill subsequently suggested, they might have had another man sin-binned as they conceded a string of scrummage penalties at what was a crucial stage.

That might have made a telling difference, but as Cockerill rightly observed, there could be no complaint about the outcome, the Blues defensive effort aided by further pressure relieving Edinburgh handling errors.

Edinburgh: B Kinghorn; D Fife, M Bennett, C Dean (P Burleigh 55), D van der Merwe; J van der Walt (D Weir 61), N Fowles (S Kennedy 53); J Lay (R Sutherland 60), S McInally (N Cochrane 60), WP Nel (S Berghan 51), F McKenzie capt (L Carmichael 51), G Gilchrist, M Bradbury (C du Preez 60), J Hardie, V Mata

Cardiff Blues: G Anscombe; B Scully, T Lee-Lo, W Halaholo, O Lane; J Evans, T Williams (L Williams 65); G Jenkins capt (R Gill 55), K Dacey (K Myhill 73), D Lewis (A Peikrishvili 60), G Earle (S Davies 8), J Turnbull, J Navidi, E Jenkins, N Williams (M Cook 76)

Scoring sequence: 3-0, 3-7, 3-14 (H-T) 6-14, 6-17, 6-20

Scorers: Edinburgh – Pens – van der Walt (2). Blues – Tries – E Jenkins, Scully; Cons – Evans (2); Pens – Evans (2)

Referee: M Raynault (France)

Attendance: 7065