Rory Best paid tribute to Ulster's '16th man' as he claimed the support his side received at the Aviva Stadium was crucial in steering them through to a first Heineken Cup final since 1999.
"This is massive for Ulster Rugby. It has been talked about so much in recent weeks and the support has been immense," said Best.
"There is a group of us - Nigel Brady, Stephen Ferris, Declan Fitzpatrick, Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble - that have come through a lot of dark days and stuck around to try to get to an occasion like this.
"And the support we have all had has been absolutely fantastic. Right from the start of the day when we left the hotel, got on the bus, arrived at the ground and all through the day.
"The Ulster fans were like a 16th man to us. I'm delighted to be in the final, but credit to Edinburgh - they put it up to us and the game was in the balance right to the last minute."
Edinburgh skipper Greig Laidlaw claimed his players would "rue the day" when they look back on the second half and the number of knock-ons they conceded.
"We had a number of missed opportunities in critical areas, which isn't like us. We're often much more clinical and, when we look back at that second half, then we will rue the day," he said.
"It was uncharacteristic of the guys who did it. We were quite tired because Ulster sucked the life out of us a bit and we fell off a little in the second half.
"But we are proud to get where we have got to. We came to win, and we weren't far away, and the guys can take great credit for our Heineken Cup campaign this season.
"We had a number of young players who were playing in their first professional season and they all stuck to their task well."
