EDINBURGH Rugby were the first Scottish team to compete in European competition when they took on Bath at the Recreation Ground in the Heineken Cup group exactly 20 years ago. Duncan Hodge, now Edinburgh’s acting head coach, was in the capital club’s line-up on that autumn Saturday as they lost 55-26, and went on to play a leading role in many other of their big games over the following few years.

Edinburgh have enjoyed some altogether more successful outings than that debut in Bath in the ensuing two decades, notably reaching the Heineken semi-final in 2012 then getting to the Challenge Cup final last year. Here, as they prepare to set off for Romania and their first match in this year’s Challenge Cup, we look back on some of Edinburgh’s highlights and low points in European competition.

12 October 1996 Heineken Cup pool game: Bath 55 Edinburgh 26

With Scotland’s professionals still attached to their clubs, the Edinburgh squad had had little time together to prepare for the match against a squad that would win the competition the following season under the captaincy of Andy Nicol. A Bath side that included Jeremy Guscott, Jason Robinson and Henry Paul was far too strong for the visitors. Full-back Derrick Lee was one of the few Scots to impress. “Playing against that Bath team full of all those guys was on a different plane to anything we’d experienced up till then,” Hodge recalled.

27 October 1996 Heineken Cup pool game: Edinburgh 23 Treviso 43

A punitive schedule forced Edinburgh to play all four games in the space of 15 days, whereas three of the other four clubs in their pool had an extra week. Edinburgh had lost to Dax and Pontypridd as well as Bath and had truly run out of steam by the time Treviso visited Myreside. A crowd of just 1500 saw Italian scrum-half Alessandro Troncon score two of his club’s seven tries, while Lee and Hodge were among the scorers for a deflated home team.

18 September 1998 Heineken Cup pool game: Ulster 38 Edinburgh 38

In a match that was always close - the home team led 25-22 at half-time - stand-off Hodge secured a point at the death with a lengthy drop goal from a difficult wide position. Both sides ended up with four tries, Edinburgh’s coming from Cammie Murray with two, Jamie Mayer and Adam Roxburgh.

17 December 1999 Heineken Cup pool game: Edinburgh 8 Northampton 47

A crushing defeat at Myreside for the home team, who were down 3-33 at half-time to opponents who were on the way to becoming European champions. A Conan Sharman try and a Hodge penalty were Edinburgh’s only scores.

14 October 2000 Heineken Cup pool game: Northampton 22 Edinburgh 23

Less than a year after that thumping loss to the Saints, Edinburgh went to Franklin’s Gardens and scored a thrilling victory against the reigning champions. Hodge - who else? - was the match-winner with a drop goal. Frank Hadden’s team beat Northampton at Murrayfield three months later, and ended up just a point behind Biarritz at the top of Pool One.

12 January 2001 Heineken Cup pool game: Leinster 34 Edinburgh 34

Apparently down and out at half-time, when they trailed 24-9, Edinburgh hit back after the break to claim a draw. Hodge scored two conversions and five penalties, the last of which brought his side level in time added on. The two coaches, Leinster’s Matt Williams and Edinburgh’s Hadden, would both go on to take charge of Scotland.

7 December 2003 Heineken Cup pool game: Edinburgh 23 Toulouse 16

This opening win was the first of five consecutive European victories for the capital team, but the sixth pool match was against Toulouse in France, where they lost 33-0. The competition’s curious seeding system then sent them back to Toulouse for the quarter-final, which they lost 36-10. Nonetheless, that victory at Murrayfield showed that on their day Edinburgh could get the better of some of the continent’s most distinguished teams.

18 November 2011 Heineken Cup pool game: Edinburgh 48 Racing Metro 47

A rollercoaster of a match at Murrayfield saw Edinburgh just get the better of their French opponents, who had led 31-20 at the break. It was one of five victories that took Edinburgh to the top of their pool and a home quarter-final against Toulouse . . .

7 April 2012 Heineken Cup quarter-final: Edinburgh 19 Toulouse 14

A crowd of nearly 38,000 was inside Murrayfield to witness one of the home team’s greatest performances as they beat the former champions thanks in large part to the boot of Greig Laidlaw. Mike Blair scored a try in the first minute, but after that it was all Laidlaw, whose points came from a conversion, a drop goal and three penalties, the last of which sealed the win in the closing minute.

28 April 2012 Heineken Cup semi-final: Ulster 22 Edinburgh 19

Edinburgh had enjoyed some big results against Ulster over the years, but could not pull off another when it mattered most at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium. Jim Thompson scored his team’s only try in the last minute.

17 April 2015 Edinburgh 45 Newport Gwent Dragons 16

Having won their Challenge Cup quarter-final against London Irish by just five points, Alan Solomons’ side turned on the style in their semi against the Dragons, running in five tries. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne scored one, and added 20 points through four penalties and four conversions.

1 May 2015 Edinburgh 13 Gloucester 19

Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw ran the show as Gloucester proved too strong in the Challenge Cup final, held at the Twickenham Stoop. The English club were a man down for the last quarter of an hour after Bill Meakes was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Sam Beard, but Edinburgh could not capitalise on their numerical advantage. Ross Ford got Edinburgh’s only try, the other points coming from the boot of Hidalgo-Clyne.