Sean Everitt admits Edinburgh were “fortunate” to beat Zebre Parma after claiming a scrappy 24-19 win in Italy despite an “error-ridden performance.”

The Scots trailed for most of the match but wrestled back control in the closing stages as a penalty try and Dave Cherry score added to Boan Venter’s earlier effort. 

“I think we were very fortunate. We hung in there, and the ascendancy that we got in the set piece got us the result at the end of the day,” Everitt said. 

“But I’m not happy with the performance - you can’t be happy with an error-ridden performance like that.”

The trip to Parma was Edinburgh’s first URC match since facing Glasgow on 30 December, and rustiness was clear for all to see, particularly in a poor first half. 

But Jamie Ritchie, one of seven members of Scotland’s Six Nations squad made available for the game, captained his side to a win that lifted them into fourth place. 

“There are some guys here who haven’t played for five weeks, some others haven’t played for three, so we were a little bit rusty,” Everitt said. 

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“Also being away from home doesn’t help. But it’s no excuse. We know we’re a better team than that.”

He added: “I thought the team was well led by Jamie. He showed a lot of composure. 

“We knew we had a set piece that could get ascendancy, especially when they made their substitutions, and obviously the yellow card helped as well. 

“Credit to our guys for the composure that they showed and for coming back in a game that they were really never in for 70 minutes.”