Harry Leonard's penalty strike with the last kick of the match last night earned Edinburgh a win at Murrayfield which could prove invaluable to their bid to re-establish themselves as a credible force in the RaboDirect Pro12.

Against opponents that had beaten them in six of their previous eight meetings, Edinburgh rose to the challenge laid down by their new management team to regain some respect, showing all the fight that was missing during large chunks of last season.

It was not all that easy to see last week either, when the Scottish side conceded five tries during a heavy defeat by Munster. Alan Solomons, Edinburgh's head coach, had been generous in the wake of that result, the South African claiming that the resolve his side showed during the second half prevented the scoreline from being much, much worse.

Solomons had also pointed out that Edinburgh faced a stiff task in adapting to new requirements, but it was none the less vital on this first appearance of the campaign in front of their own supporters that his side showed the necessary desire to put the events of the previous year behind them.

To that end, the early exchanges with Newport-Gwent Dragons were hugely encouraging for the Murrayfield faithful. Even the concession of an early penalty, which allowed Jason Tovey to open the scoring after two minutes, could arguably be put down to little more than over-eagerness, since the Edinburgh defence were adjudged offside.

Harry Leonard levelled the scores within two minutes and both he and his Dragons counterpart, Tovey, had further chances but could not add to their tallies. Edinburgh, who had already had the better of the scrums, then sought to assert themselves through their lineout drive.

It would have normally seemed automatic for Leonard to go for goal when, on the sort of evening perfect for goal-kickers, another penalty was awarded to his side inside the opposition 22. However, the Dragons had proven susceptible to the lineout drive in previous matches this season and that invited the Edinburgh fly-half to kick to the corner, the decision appearing briefly to have gained his side maximum reward as they forced the Welsh side back to their own line. In the end they were thwarted illegally and when the penalty was then awarded closer to the posts, Leonard took advantage to nudge his side ahead again.

The Dragons tried to respond but Tovey pushed a drop goal attempt wide, while a 30-metre break down the right by Riche Rees, the former Edinburgh scrum-half, sparked a move which ended just eight metres short out on the opposite flank.

However, Edinburgh continued to play the better rugby and should have gone further ahead three minutes before the break. They moved the ball wide and had the better of the close range exchanges as they tried to force their way over, forcing Lewis Evans to infringe again in killing the ball to stop them. The flanker was duly sin-binned for his efforts but Edinburgh opted for the scrummage rather than the points and, for all their superiority in that department, there was a sense of inevitability when they were then penalised.

The identity of the first try scorer at Murrayfield this season had also been in little doubt, though. Time Visser finished as he so frequently does, going over early in the second half following a move which started out with fine recycling on the right. Dave Denton, who had been impressive throughout the match, hung outside in the back line, helping to generate a numerical advantage, and when the ball arrived at the powerful Scotland No.8 he got the ball away to Visser despite taking contact. The Edinburgh wing did the rest.

The next score came from a rather less prolific member of last season's Edinburgh squad, as Rees managed to squirm his way over following a close-range lineout. Tovey's conversion made it a three-point game once again as the match headed into the final quarter.

That made it a real test of nerve for the team with the narrow advantage, all the more so since they have been finding wins so hard to come by for the past 18 months or so. That, in turn, meant an early examination of the work of Omar Mouneimne, the Edinburgh defence coach. His side were looking secure until a ruck infringement was detected 35 metres out - a decision which sparked the wrath of the home support - which allowed Kris Burton, the Dragons' replacement stand-off, to level the scores.

It was a cruel blow for Edinburgh. It also provoked a rather frantic response from the home side, Leonard appearing desperately impatient when he tried drop goal attempt from 45 metres out with only around half a minute to go.

Burton offered the home side one further chance when he kicked his restart direct into touch. This time Edinburgh showed all the composure required at the resultant scrum; getting the initial nudge on as the ball was expertly controlled by Denton, eventually forcing the Dragons to go down to stall their retreat. Referee Dudley Phillips awarded the penalty that let Leonard secure a deserved victory.