“I’m happy with how the guys fought back,” the head coach said. “They wanted to play for each other tonight and show our fans what we can do, and I thought the guys fought well to stay in the game and then be patient with the ball in hand to get over and score at the end.

“It was a bit of a dream debut for Hector. I thought he went really well. The more games he plays, the better he’s going to get, and I thought tonight, particularly with the wind, he was exceptional with his box kicking.

“So I’m really proud of him and happy for him. He can be very proud of his performance, and as long as he keeps working on his game he’s in control of where he can be, which will probably be at international level.”

With that awkward breeze at their backs in the first half, Edinburgh began brightly and took the lead after five minutes. First Piers O’Conor penetrated deep into the Zebre 22, and then two phases later, Connor Boyle forced his way over the line, with Ross Thompson converting.

The sharpness of the score’s execution suggested that Edinburgh were up for the fight, but they were not alone in that – as Zebre quickly proved with two tries of their own. The first came when scrum-half Alessandro Fusco crossed from a few metres out after a quick tapped penalty, with Giovanni Montemauri equalising from the conversion. Then, after another powerful drive had taken Zebre close to the home posts, a quick switch of play to the left saw Simone Gesi score an unconverted try in the corner. 

To their credit, Edinburgh responded quickly to that double blow. A grubber from O’Conor unlocked the defence, Malelili Satala was first to the loose ball, and the winger’s pass found debutant scrum-half Hector Patterson, who just made it to the line from a few metres out. Thompson’s conversion restored the home lead.

A becalmed period followed, but a few minutes before half-time Edinburgh extended their lead with an unconverted try from Ewan Ashman. The Scotland hooker had the first drive from a lineout deep inside the Zebre 22, Pierre Schoeman progressed the attack, then finally Ashman finished off from a Patterson pass. That should have been that for the first 40, but a guddle just inside the home 22 ended with Zebre being awarded a penalty from which Montemauri scored. 

A four-point lead was not much of an advantage for Edinburgh to take into a second half in which they were playing into the wind, even if it had died down a little by the time the teams re-emerged. And in fact that lead was wiped out within five minutes, as the Italians hit back with an unconverted try that began when Satala spilled a contestable. Some excellent continuity kept the attack alive as it swept left, and eventually Jacopo Trulla crossed in the corner.

It had become evident some time before that score that the game could go either way, and it swung back in Edinburgh’s favour on the hour mark when Ashman got his second try. A Zebre penalty was reversed for a push after the whistle, and the hooker finished off from the lineout maul with relative ease. 

Cammy Scott, on for Thompson, was just wide with the conversion attempt. And, after Liam McConnell had gone off for an HIA which he subsequently failed, a second successful Montemauri penalty a few minutes later made it a one-point game at 24-23.

Was there time for another couple of twists in the tale? Of course there was. 

The first went Zebre’s way, as, following a lengthy TMO review, Matteo Nocera was ruled to have grounded. Montemauri converted, and the Italians led by six.

But in the dying moments, Boan Venter scored from close range after heavy pressure, and Scott’s conversion claimed the narrowest of wins.

“We’re happy that the fans came,” Everitt added. “Obviously, we read and we see that the fans are going to boycott. The fans are behind us. It’s great to see. I know it’s been a tough time for the club. 

 

“We wanted to put in a good performance for them tonight and show some grit. We certainly did that. We want to thank them for everything that they’ve done and the support that they’ve given us through these tough times.”

 

 

Teams – 

Edinburgh: P O’Conor; D Graham, M Tuipulotu, F Thomson, M Satala (J Brown 66);  R Thompson (C Scott 51), H Patterson (B Vellacott 68); P Schoeman (B Venter 57), E Ashman, O Blyth-Lafferty (P Hill 48), M Sykes (G Young 74), G Gilchrist (capt), L McConnell (T Currie 66), F Douglas (D Richardson 57), C Boyle.

Zebre Parma: J Trulla; M Faissal, L Morisi (T Dominguez 66), D Mazza, S Gesi; G Montemauri, A Fusco; P Buonfiglio (M Hasa 53), G Quattrini (S Klein 63), I Neculai (M Bocera 57), M Canali, A Ortombina (L Krumov 60), G Ferrari (I Bianchi 68), S Locatelli, G Licata (capt).

 

Referee: Christopher Allison (South Africa).

 

Scorers – 

Edinburgh: Tries: Boyle, Patterson, Ashman 2, Venter. Cons: Thompson 2, Scott.

Zebre: Tries: Fusco, Gesi, Trulla, Nocera. Cons: Montemauri 2. Pens: Montemauri 2.

Scoring sequence (Edinburgh first): 5-0; 7-0; 7-5; 7-7; 7-12; 12-12; 14-12; 19-12; 19-15; half-time; 19-20; 24-20; 24-23; 24-28; 24-30; 29-30; 31-30.

Attendance: 6,818.