Edinburgh Rugby reaction: Two-up in the ‘Biltong Series’, Bath or Gloucester, dinner with Jake White

But before then the capital club will return to United Rugby Championship duties, with the Sharks due at Hive Stadium on Friday.

Sean Everitt, the Edinburgh coach, said the players had nicknamed it ‘the Biltong Series’ and they will be going for a trio of victories over South African visitors after seeing off the Lions and the Bulls in the Challenge Cup round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively.

Saturday’s 34-28 win over the Bulls means Edinburgh are one win away from the final in Cardiff but Everitt is under no illusion about the scale of the task facing them in the semi.

“There’s lot of rugby to be played before then,” cautioned the coach. “We've got the Sharks next week and that's got to be our focus now. We've got three South African teams in a row and the guys are labelling it the Biltong Series!

“We're two up and we've got another one to go so we've got to focus. But yes, the semi-final at home is awesome against probably one of the better teams in the Premiership at the moment.

“Gloucester are really good with ball in hand. We played them earlier in the year at Kingsholm [Gloucester won 15-10 in the Challenge Cup pool stage] and then obviously Bath are the form team by far and a powerhouse team. So whoever comes out at the top there on Sunday will be ready for the challenge.”

Edinburgh beat the Bulls thanks to two tries from James Lang and one apiece from player of the match Magnus Bradbury and co-captain Grant Gilchrist. Ross Thompson, their stand-off, was flawless off the tee, converting all four tries and kicking two penalties, but Edinburgh had to dig deep defensively in the second half as the Bulls came roaring back. A penalty try and further converted tries from Cameron Hanekom and David Kriel - his second of the game - brought them to within six points but Edinburgh held on.

It was a notable success for Everitt over his good friend Jake White, the Bulls coach and one of the most respected figures in South African rugby having led the Springboks to World Cup success in 2007.

“He and I are good friends and we had dinner on Friday night,” revealed Everitt. “He's a good man. I've also lost to him on a few occasions so we don't rub each other's nose in it.”