Pro14: Cheetahs 33-13 Edinburgh

Edinburgh failed to pick up a point on their first Pro14 visit to South Africa, losing 33-13 to the Cheetahs.

The hosts built a commanding 14-0 half-time lead through converted tries from Craig Barry and Rynier Bernardo.

Sam Hidalgo-Clyne converted his own opportunistic score and slotted two penalties soon after the break to bring Edinburgh back within a point.

But Junior Pokomela dotted down, before Makazole Mapimpi then Tian Meyer wrapped up the victory with late tries.

Edinburgh travel to Port Elizabeth to face the Southern Kings on 1 December.

• Edinburgh sign ex-NZ U20 captain Hickey

• Scotland captain Barclay to join Edinburgh

• Ben Toolis,Stuart McInally re-sign with Edinburgh

This was an evening of extreme frustration for the tourists, who arrived in Bloemfontein after five straight victories, and enjoyed the lion's share of the ball and the field position, but lacked the guile to convert that statistical supremacy into points.

Indeed, while the Cheetahs were capable of fine attacking rugby, Edinburgh's maddening error count and lack of 'street smarts' contributed significantly to their points tally.

For phase after first-half phase, the visitors used their brutish ball-carriers - Viliame Mata, Anton Bresler and the young tyro Luke Crosbie - to bludgeon the Cheetahs defence in and around the home 22.

But the heavy artillery was comfortably repelled while attempted off-loads were fumbled and infringements incurred.

Edinburgh kicked for the touchline rather than the posts when their early pressure yielded a Cheetahs infraction, but their driving maul crumbled a yard from the line, the ball cocooned and turned over.

The long limbs and dynamic strides of Blair Kinghorn, the Edinburgh full-back who has made more metres in this competition than any other player, made frequent inroads when bursting into the line.

But he was beaten for pace when, with their first major attacking raid, the Cheetahs took the lead.

A delicate grubber-kick from Clayton Blommetjies, arcing through the Edinburgh midfield, popped up perfectly for debutant Barry. The winger, an early replacement for the stricken Luther Obi, outsprinted Kinghorn on the turn, and breezed inside the covering defence to score, Fred Zeilinga converting.

Hulking debutant winger Duhan van der Merwe drove Edinburgh back into the Cheetahs 22, but the visitors were foiled at the breakdown by number eight Pokomela.

From the resultant penalty and line-out, Blommetjies punctured Edinburgh's midfield again, haring into the 22 and feeding inside to Barry.

The substitute was hauled to ground short of the whitewash, but with the Edinburgh defence scrambling, a huge, looping pass from William Small-Smith sent Bernardo cantering in untouched at the corner, Zeilinga landing a superb conversion two minutes from half-time.

Viliame Mata made 15 carries for Edinburgh

Edinburgh had earned two-thirds of the first-half territory, and over 60% possession, but headed for the dressing room trailing 14-0.

Hidalgo-Clyne got the visitors going with a penalty three minutes into the second period, and the Scots were gift-wrapped a glorious opportunity when Zeilinga slung a wild, inexplicable forward pass under his own posts.

Edinburgh marshalled their bruisers, and pulverised the Cheetahs scrum, allowing Hidalgo-Clyne to scoop up the ball and scamper over for a try he converted with ease.

A stunning, slaloming run from Van der Merwe carried Edinburgh downfield immediately from the kick-off, the visitors' pressure yielding a penalty Hidalgo-Clyne slotted.

With their lead cut to a solitary point, the Cheetahs sprung into action, producing their best attacking rugby of the match, and came millimetres from a third try when the ball squirmed free of Carl Wegner's grasp as the lock stretched for the line.

It was a temporary reprieve for Edinburgh, with an all-new Cheetahs front-row splintering their counterparts at the set-piece, allowing Pokolema to ground the ball as it bobbled over the line.

By now, Edinburgh were wilting as an attacking force in the high-altitude surrounds, hemmed in their own half as the Cheetahs rallied in search of a bonus-point try, a high tackle from Mata and an overthrown line-out aiding their pursuit.

From that botched set-piece, the Cheetahs swept back into the Scots' 22, and Mapimpi, the league's top try scorer, plunged over for his ninth of the season.

Meyer twisted the knife with the clock red, sprinting away for the hosts' fifth try to put Edinburgh out of their misery on a night of anguish for Richard Cockerill and his men.

Cheetahs: Blommetjies, Obi, Small-Smith, Lee, Mapimpi, Zeilinga, Venter, Marais, van Jaarsveld (capt), Coetzee, Wegner, Reniel, Schoeman, Bernardo, Pokomela.

Replacements: du Toit, Nche, Botha, Wiese, Maartens, Meyer, Kruger, Barry.

Edinburgh: Kinghorn, Fife, Johnstone, Dean, Van der Merwe; Tovey, Hidalgo-Clyne; Rizzo, Cochrane, McCallum, Bresler McKenzie (capt), Carmichael, Crosbie, Mata.

Replacements: Fenton, Sutherland, K Bryce, Hunter-Hill, Bradbury, Fowles, van der Walt, Rasolea.