Scotland outside half Duncan Weir may have got off the mark in Edinburgh colours, but that's more than can be said for his new team as they slipped to a soggy defeat in the torrential rain.

Weir might have expected more of an armchair ride from a pack which was often so dominant last season, but the Edinburgh forwards failed to gain a foothold and the bonus point win for the home side seemed inevitable once they got ahead just before half-time with a Penalty Try from a lineout drive.

The outside half should have enjoyed his first chance to drive a Pro12 team forward without looking over his shoulder at international colleagues vying for his position, but this defeat also showed the scale of the task.

The consolation was that this Friday's opponents Scarlets had an even more disappointing opening defeat, against Munster in Llanelli, but victory in five days will be vital for Edinburgh as they then entertain Leinster before facing trips to Munster and champions Connacht.

A sticky loss in Cardiff could soon turn into real concern if things do not improve against the West Wales team at BT Murrayfield.

Weir was honest about his side's showing in Cardiff, admitting, “It was nice kicking a few goals, but the team scoreline is more important than the individual one.

“We probably we did not adapt to the weather and unforced errors killed us at times. The first 20 minutes were fairly positive, then the heavens came down and we did not play smart enough and clinical enough.”

He reeled off a list of names of other outside halves in Edinburgh and said, “I'm not the type of guy that sits on the high horse and thinks they are Dan the Man, you need to go out and work and prove you can do a good job.

“I'm disappointed with how things went tonight so I'll have a strong hard look at my game to get the development out of this evening and learn so nights like this do not repeat themselves too often.

“Cardiff's defence meant it felt like we were coming up against a brick wall every time, their line speed with a greasy ball was putting our skills under pressure and made it hard to get our attack going.

“We did not fire too many shots tonight, so we have to look at that to hit the ground running at home. I know Edinburgh had a strong home record last season so it is about repeating that.

“It has been a good transition, I have enjoyed it, the guys have been really helpful in the squad, but I am here and the rest of the boys are here to win games of rugby and we did not do that tonight.”

Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons was also under no illusions about the level of Ediniburgh's performance, though he could take some encouragement from the Scarlets defeat to Munster as well.

“The big thing in this game if you look at both halves is that they dominated territory and possession, you cannot play if you are buried deep in your half and you do not have the ball,” he said.

“The pack will pick up, but they need the game time under their belt. Firstly let's give credit to our opponents, secondly guys like WP (Nel) and Fordy (Ross Ford) are in their second games of the season so they will get stronger.

“We have massive games and we know we need to pick it up, but we know it is early in the season. There is no need to panic.”

Edinburgh were certainly competitive in the opening 20 minutes and scored a good try through centre Solomoni Radolea, bursting back at an angle in taking a short ball from a ruck on the Blues line.

Weir landed two penalties, one from inside his own half, as well as converting the try to put his side into the lead, but momentum shifted with the Penalty Try just before half-time and the Blues were always in control in the second half as they cantered to a bonus point.

Scorers: Cardiff Blues: Tries- Shingler, Penalty Try, N Williams, T Williams. Cons – Shingler (2), Anscombe (2). Pens – Shingler (2).

Edinburgh: Try – Rasolea. Con – Weir. Pens – Weir (2).

Cardiff Blues: D Fish (M Morgan 57); B Scully, C Allen, R Lee-Lo, T James; S Shingler (G Anscombe 50), T Williams (L Jones 72); R Gill (G Jenkins 50), K Myhill (K Dacey 42), T Filise (S Andrews 59), G Earle (J Down 65), M Cook, J Navidi, E Jenkins (capt), N Williams (C Dolan 72).

Edinburgh: G Bryce (B Kinghorn 76); R Scholes, S Tofilau (C Dean 67), S Rasolea, T Brown; D Weir, N Fowles (S Hidalgo-Clyne 57); R Sutherland (J Cosgrove 57), R Ford (S McInally 50), WP Nel (S Berghan 62-77), F McKenzie (B Toolis 65), G Gilchrist (capt), J Ritchie, H Watson, N Manu (M Bradbury 33).

Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)