But despite Laidlaw, who featured in all five of Scotland RBS 6 Nations games this year, kicking 14 points, Edinburgh failed to reach the final, losing 22-19 to Ulster.

And while Laidlaw knows Edinburgh can be proud of their efforts in promoting Scottish rugby on the European stage, he is convinced they will be hard tasked to repeat the feat next year.

“Going forward, we need to learn the lessons of this year,” Edinburgh’s captain told The Scotsman.

“Going away from home and winning tight games was a big step forward for this club. But next year will probably be harder for Edinburgh.

“I think this year and in years past maybe teams think, ‘we’ve got a good chance, we’re playing Edinburgh,’ so we’ll probably be targeted a little more next year. It’ll probably get harder.”