Southern Kings 25-21 Edinburgh: Richard Cockerill says visitors 'deserved' defeat
Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Edinburgh "got what they deserved" after slipping to a dramatic late defeat to Southern Kings, says head coach Richard Cockerill.
The visitors led by eight points with seven minutes to play in Port Elizabeth, but conceded two late tries.
It meant Edinburgh missed the chance to go second in Pro14 Conference B and remain third, a point behind Benetton.
"It was an opportunity to get ahead of the guys around us and we missed that opportunity," Cockerill said.
"We did enough to win the game, and then you concede two tries with five or six minutes to go, and you get what you deserve."
It was Edinburgh's first defeat in eight matches after a spectacular run in the Pro14 and in Europe, as they reached the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
Due to Six Nations commitments, several key players were missing from the squad however consistent starters Viliame Mata, James Johnstone, Jaco van der Walt and Chris Dean all featured in South Africa.
One of Edinburgh's three scores came from a penalty try from a scrum, with Kings' CJ Velleman sin-binned for pulling down a maul.
But Cockerill was frustrated referee Dan Jones produced no further cards, as the hosts gave away a number of penalties on their own try-line as Edinburgh piled on the pressure.
"There is some refereeing where he just penalises and penalises and penalises them, but doesn't take anyone away from the field," the Englishman told Edinburgh's official website.
"However, we can't blame the referee or anything like that. We had our opportunities to win the game and we just didn't take them."
