Head coach Matt Sherratt conceded that his side had come off second best during their 7-24 defeat to Edinburgh in the BKT United Rugby Championship at Cardiff Arms Park.
Despite drawing level just after half-time through a Rhys Carre try, the home side were under constant pressure from the powerful Edinburgh outfit and the visitors were able to pull away in the second-half.
"I think we allowed them to keep coming," said Sherrat. "You kick long to them, they're going to come at you.
"If you don't get through three phases and give them a scrum, they're going to come at you. The challenge for us was, ultimately if we got the ball they can't come at us, but we wouldn't get enough of the ball to stop that happening today.
"They're a good side, they're a very good side. You can see they have some good sides with some top class internationals as well.
"Next year is just, it's about growing. We've got a little bit of a foundation this year in terms of I think there's been plenty of pride in the shirt and there's been some young boys blooded.
"We've got a definitive style of play, but it's about trying to grow that. The young boys this season should be 5-10% better and then you have Callum Sheedy coming in and there'll be a couple of other announcements in terms of some more experienced players coming in should help that growth as well.
"That's the key really is making sure we replace that experience. We need to get some boys who have been through it and can make really good decisions at key times amongst our youngsters so that kind of grows their game as well."