Ruan Pienaar produced a Heineken Man of the Match performance to guide Ulster Rugby into the Heineken Cup final at Twickenham on Saturday, 19 May - and then warned there is better to come.
It was six of the best from the Springbok scrum half as he kicked five penalties and a conversion to end Ulster's 13-year wait for another European final and set-up a showdown with either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Leinster Rugby at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, 19 May.
Having scored 14 points in the quarter-final win over Munster at Thomond Park, Pienaar took his Heineken Cup tally for the season to 81 with another immaculate display of goalkicking as he ended with a 100% success rate.
"I knew how important that last penalty was because against Munster I missed a similar kick and they were still in the game. It was important for me to get that one," admitted Pienaar.
"Our set piece went well and, although it was not our best performance, we will take the win. Now we will work hard over the next three weeks to prepare for whoever we play at Twickenham
"In games like this it is small margins that make the difference. Edinburgh are a fantastic side and played very well.
"We knew we needed to keep the ball more in the second half and get into their territory. There was a lot of guts and character displayed out there and we're really pleased to have got the win.
"All of us playing now know what it meant to the city and the region in 1999 to win the Heineken Cup and it will be fantastic for us to go to Twickenham with such magical support behind us."
Fellow Springbok and Ulster Rugby captain, Johann Muller, echoed those sentiments, adding: "We were not at our best but we ground out the win - it takes something special form everyone to achieve something like this.
"We always knew it was going to be different, totally different for a Pro12 meeting, but in the second half we got our hands on the ball a bit more and if you have a kicker like Ruan you are going to win more than you lose."
Ulster head coach Brian McLaughlin praised his side's defence for keeping Edinburgh out until the 80th minute, declaring "in the first half they threw everything at us.
"But our defence was great and we were ruthless with the chances we had during that time and in the second half we had better territory and possession," he said.
"Our scrum was outstanding, it was one of the key areas for us, and while we are obviously delighted to have won we are a bit disappointed with the way we played."
There was heartbreak for Edinburgh on their first appearance in the tournament semi-finals, coach Michael Bradley declaring it was "a mix of disappointment and frustration."
"In the first half we certainly had chances for points on the board and Ulster did a good job in shutting us down a bit more in the second half and stifling our ability to play attacking rugby," he added.
"We needed a bit more patience and they did get away from us in the second half. We had enough opportunities to win the game and put them under more pressure but we did not manage to achieve that."
