Edinburgh 44-21 Treviso: Chris Paterson goes out on a high Published on Monday 7 May 2012 02:59 EDINBURGH signed off the season with a rare easy-street win in the RaboDirect Pro12 league and an emotional farewell to Scotland's most capped internationalist and record points scorer Chris Paterson along with a phalanx of other players. The man they call Mossy bowed out by scoring the third of Edinburgh's tries and taking the Man of the Match award in a game where the Italians kept getting up and coming back after being knocked down until the home side finally stretched out of sight. Afterwards Paterson said: "It was good to get a final try. I got a lucky bounce and thought for a moment Tim Visser was going to muscle me out as we ran through. I'm sure he just let me get it because of the occasion. Edinburgh have a lot of good young players now and the balance is right for the future. I've always said you only ever borrow the jersey. When you have it you give it all you have but it has to be passed on. I feel quite happy in all honesty. The game went well and I enjoyed it. I feel guilty because you feel you should be crying but I'm not sad because I've had such a great career and I'm proud of what I've achieved. It just feels like the right time and the emotion is happiness. Paterson, now aged 34, was at the head of a long list of players leaving Edinburgh as the club prepares for a new season. On the pitch for the last time were stand off Phil Godman, who came on briefly as a replacement for his 150th appearance, international prop Kyle Traynor who snatched the fifth try, prop Jack Gilding, flanker Alan MacDonald for his 99th game, and hooker Andrew Kelly who played out the last ten minutes. Part of the exodus and watching from beyond the touchline were scrum half Mike Blair, Argentine lock Esteban Lozada and backs Jim Thompson and Simon Webster. The game itself was an end-of-season cracker, one of those matches that don't really matter but that somehow turn into a furiously intriguing contest. Edinburgh were always in control but Treviso never let up as they fought and scrapped to stay within touching distance of a home side guided by the flawless, Paterson-esque place kicking performance of stand off Greig Laidlaw who gathered three penalties and five conversions, plus a try. It was 23-7 at half-time and Treviso winger Ludovico Nitoglia had just reduced the margin when Paterson's try brought the crowd to its feet. The Italians scored again when Edoardo Gori burrowed under but Visser then got his hands on the ball in space and, if he did hold back earlier to give his teammate the glory, there was no stopping him this time as he charged through a yawing gap to score his 17th try of the season, a new club record, for the bonus point. Traynor's try right at the death seemed almost inevitable as Edinburgh momentum was ultimately too much for the Italians to handle but almost overlooked as Paterson had been substituted in the 78th minute and was still receiving a standing ovation. All the nostalgia of the night conveniently masked the fact that, despite the bonus point and the comfortable victory, Edinburgh finished in 11th place and second bottom of the league, their worst ever finish. But, looking on the bright side, poor returns in the league with only six wins in 22 attempts were utterly transformed in the epic journey to last month's Heineken Cup semi-final when, with a bit of luck or the bounce of a ball, Edinburgh might well have gone all the way to the final. If the team can find a formula that reproduces Heineken Cup form in the Pro12 the potential for success increases exponentially. That is why such a mood of optimism can be found among the players in the Edinburgh dressing room these days. Coach Michael Bradley said: "It was a good finish for us today and good score to put on any team. In relation to the season as a whole I think the squad now understands what it is like to play in the final stages of a massive tournament like the Heineken Cup. The squad can bank those memories and they are young enough to say lets go back next year, and the next year and the year after that. Our Pro12 form is certainly something to work on but the essence of a good club is having competition for places and we will have that across the board next year. Of course, it will be hard to replace the players that are leaving, but it creates a sense of excitement among the new players about what they might achieve, what they might be part of. Scorers: Edinburgh: Tries: Denton, Laidlaw, Paterson, Visser, Traynor. Cons: Laidlaw 5. Treviso: Tries: Benvenuti, Gori. Edinburgh: C Paterson, T Brown, N De Luca, M Scott, T Visser, G Laidlaw, C Leck, A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross, G Gilchrist, S Cox, D Denton, R Rennie, R Grant. Replacements: A Kelly for Ford 67, K Traynor for Jacobsen 67, J Gilding for Cross 57, S Turnbull for Cox 49, A MacDonald for Denton 52, H Leonard for Paterson 78, P Godman for Leck 67. Treviso: L McLean, E Gori, T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, L Nitoglia, K Burton, F Semenzato, M Rizzo, F Shabaglini, I Fernandez-Rouyet, V Bernabo, C Van Zyl, F Minto, R Barbareri, A Zanni. Replacements: E Ceccati for Rizzo 56, Muccignat, L Cittadini for Fernandez-Rouyet 44, G Padro for McLean 69, M Fillipucci for Bernabo 56, S Picone for Nitoglia 78, T Iannone for Barbieri 69, B Williams for Sgarbi 44.