The amateur district team was reformed with professionalism, as Edinburgh Rugby, in 1996 to compete in the Heineken Cup, its best performance coming in the 2011–12 season, when the club reached the semi-final but lost out narrowly to Ulster, 22–19.

In the 2003–04 season the team found some success, when it reached the Final of the inaugural Celtic Cup, beating Cardiff Blues and Connacht en route in the quarter-finals[7] and semi-finals[8] respectively.

The team was thought to be the favourite to be folded, after the Scottish Rugby Union warned that funding problems could force it to scrap one of its Celtic League sides.

This included leading players such as Chris Paterson and Mike Blair[18] The dispute escalated when, on 9 July 2007, Edinburgh revoked its associate membership of the SRU.

The resignation was withdrawn on 12 July, with Bob Carruthers being quoted as asking to "talk directly to someone" and insisting that the proposed signing of Australia stand-off Stephen Larkham would go ahead.

[23] Former British & Irish Lions captain Gavin Hastings was subsequently appointed as chairman,[24] stating his "desire and passion to see this game and this club grow".

[28] Edinburgh showed progress under Robinson and performed well at home in the Heineken Cup, posting wins against Leinster[29] and Leicester Tigers[30] and a narrow loss to Toulouse, earning a bonus point.

[33][34] This progress, however, was counter-pointed by some disappointing results including being shut out by Cardiff Blues at Murrayfield[35] and losing the 1872 Challenge Cup on aggregate to rivals Glasgow Warriors.

Most of these players would become regular starters for the club and Jones, Brown, Scott, Gilchrist, McInally and Denton were destined for international honours.

Domestically the season was not a success, with only 6 league wins out of 22 games, but the 2011–12 Heineken Cup campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history when it topped Pool 2, including a remarkable home victory against Racing Métro by 48–47[39] - the largest Heineken Cup comeback in the league's history, having been losing 27–47 with just over ten minutes remaining - and setting up a quarter final against French rugby giants Toulouse by scoring four tries, and therefore a bonus point, against London Irish.

The game against Toulouse in April 2012, was played before a new club record crowd of 37,881 and was closely contested, with Edinburgh holding out for a 19–14 win thanks to an early try from Mike Blair and penalties from captain Greig Laidlaw, setting up a semi-final in Dublin against Ulster.

The 2012–13 season started with much expectation after the strengthening of the squad through the additions of W. P. Nel, John Yapp, Richie Rees, Dimitri Basilaia, Ben Atiga, Greig Tonks, Izak van der Westhuizen, and Andy Titterrell.

These arrivals were however tempered by the loss of several experienced internationals, Mike Blair, Chris Paterson, Jim Thompson, Alan MacDonald, Esteban Lozada and Phil Godman among them.

Following increasingly disappointing results and performances in the Pro12 league it was announced in February 2013 that Edinburgh would not be renewing Bradley's contract at the end of the season along with defence coach Billy McGinty.

In his final year to early March 2013 the Club lost all six matches in the Heineken Cup and recorded four league victories all season in the Pro12 against Cardiff, Zebre, Connacht and Ospreys.

Edinburgh Rugby accumulated seven losing bonus points in this period highlighting the need for minor adjustments to change the sides fortunes on the pitch.

After going down 16–6 in the first encounter at Scotstoun Stadium, the Murrayfield men turned the tables with a 20–8 victory in the return leg, with Tim Visser notching two first-half tries, to bring the trophy back to the capital for the first time since 2009.

In the semi-finals they thrashed the Newport Gwent Dragons an impressive 45–16 in front of a home crowd of over 8,000 at Murrayfield, making them the first Scottish team to ever reach a European final.

[45] During his tenure, several Edinburgh players have made their international debuts for Scotland, including props Simon Berghan, Darryl Marfo and Murray McCallum, lock Lewis Carmichael, wing Darcy Graham, full-back Blair Kinghorn, hooker Dave Cherry, flankers Luke Hamilton and Jamie Ritchie, and former Edinburgh players Phil Burleigh, Cornell du Preez and George Turner, flanker Luke Crosbie, centres Chris Dean and James Johnstone, and scrum-halves Nathan Fowles, Sean Kennedy and Charlie Shiel were named in Scotland squads.

Former Scotland captain and Lions scrum-half Mike Blair has been appointed as the head coach for the 2021–22 season, Edinburgh's first in the new United Rugby Championship.

Blair's appointment coincided with new signings including Scotland international James Lang, South African Henry Immelman and Argentine utility back Emiliano Boffelli.

Edinburgh made a good start to their first United Rugby Championship campaign and also the European Challenge Cup, where they beat Saracens 18–21 away in the first round.

[47] This season saw modest results for the club, taking 11 wins, notably being the only team to emerge from Ulster's home stadium victorius.

However, the team were crucially let down by only collecting five bonus points throughout the season, ultimately leading to them finishing tenth in the league, below Lions and Ospreys, despite having more wins than them.

Edinburgh Rugby have played at a number of grounds over the years including Meadowbank Stadium, Meggetland Sports Complex and most recently Myreside.

It was recognised over the years by fans and players alike that Edinburgh have lacked a true Home Ground with BT Murrayfield often criticised for providing a poor atmosphere due to being largely empty for most games.

Props Hookers Locks Back row Scrum-halves Fly-halves Centres Wings Fullbacks Props Hookers Locks Back row Scrum-halves Fly-halves Centres Wings Fullbacks While still an amateur side, Edinburgh District capped the Royal HSFP forward James Robertson in the 1870s.