ON Thursday afternoon, Edinburgh coach Alan Solomons was asked if there was a danger that his players might freeze in the following evening's European Challenge Cup final clash with Gloucester, the biggest match in the club's history.

At this point, the South African could scarcely have made his legal background more obvious had he donned his wig and gown to deliver his reply. It was a masterpiece of cautious circumlocution, at the end of which we were little wiser than when he had begun.

But the answer came soon enough.

It is a painful assessment, but it is hard to avoid the conclusion that too many Edinburgh players were mentally out of their depth against Gloucester. In the first half, in particular, they looked nervous and edgy, shortcomings made all the more apparent by their opponents' sheen of self-belief.

As players, they were probably the equal of Gloucester, but they weren't in the same league as far as readiness for the big occasion was concerned.

Nothing exposes doubt quite so starkly as first-up tackling. Edinburgh's was execrable, and Gloucester will never enjoy another field day quite as fruitful as the one they had at the Stoop. But for some heroic last-ditch Edinburgh defence - much of it by Cornell du Preez - Solomons' side could easily have been buried by half time.

"In the first half I felt that we turned over too much ball," sighed the coach. "I thought our kicking was poor and we were poor in the air. We didn't stop their momentum. We slipped off too many first-up tackles in the first half and allowed them to generate momentum. That first-half performance wasn't good."

In truth, the second-half performance wasn't looking a whole lot better until Ross Moriarty was yellow-carded for kneeing Fraser McKenzie in the back, Billy Meakes was dismissed for a head-high tackle on Sam Beard, and Ross Ford ploughed over to collect Edinburgh's try against a side that had only 13 men on the pitch.

But for all that Edinburgh were suddenly energised by their score, they never really looked like adding another.

When Moriarty returned, Gloucester battened down their hatches, wound down the clock and played a clever game of keep-ball to the end. The west countrymen's 19-13 margin of victory did not flatter them one bit.

The brutal truth is that Gloucester, a team that, by the standards of English rugby, are not exactly weighed down with superstars, simply looked far more at home in the environment of a European final. Edinburgh, for their part, looked adrift. The two consecutive restart kicks Phil Burleigh hammered into touch provided a sign that the fly-half's heart was perhaps beating just a little too quickly.

Asked if he felt that nerves had come into play, Edinburgh's Tim Visser provided an intriguing response.

"I can't tell you what other players felt, but I was pretty relaxed," said the winger. "I felt we were in good shape. We had very good preparations and I felt confident in what we were trying to do, but maybe it was there for other players who hadn't played in big matches before."

But, as Solomons added, you can't buy experience. All the great European sides of recent years - including the two who contested yesterday's Champions Cup final at Twickenham - hit bumps on the road to the top. Edinburgh could hardly expect it to be any different for them.

But if they are to be strengthened by Friday's experience of adversity, they must hope the effects are felt quickly. With the European season behind them, Solomons and his players still have to focus on domestic tasks, the most pressing of which is next Friday's Guinness PRO12 clash with the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

The following weekend, they host Leinster at BT Murrayfield. The biggest prize on offer in those final two games is the top-six finish in the PRO12 which would bring them automatic entry into next season's Champions Cup.

If that does not happen, there is still, potentially, the consolation of finishing seventh and thereby earning a place in the play-offs for the top-tier European tournament.

Ironically, that would put them up against Gloucester. On Friday, Edinburgh captain Mike Coman said he and his players would be itching to have another crack at the side that had just denied them silverware, but it would be well to put such distractions to one side at this point.

Connacht and Scarlets are also in the frame for those sixth and seventh places, and both have slightly easier run-ins than Edinburgh.

Both also enjoy the advantage of having had weekends off recently, a luxury Edinburgh have been denied by their European commitments. Over the past few weeks, Solomons has consistently picked what is recognisably his strongest side, but fatigue must surely be playing a part now.

Solomons acknowledged the issue. "We have to look at how we are tracking," he said. "We have been very careful with the way we have dealt with the recovery of players, but each game now is very big and we have to put out what we think is our best side."