Edinburgh patiently built their way to an impressive bonus point win against the Newport Gwent Dragons at Murrayfield on Saturday, as four second half tries and a 28-point haul from Chris Paterson help them gain a record fifth straight Magners League victory.

For an hour, Edinburgh had to rely on the boot of Chris Paterson to keep alive their hopes of a top-three finish to their campaign.

But the Welsh resistence was broken when replacement John Houston pounced for the first try and Ben Meyer, Paterson and Ben Cairns followed suit.

Paterson collected a remarkable haul of 28 points, including a touchown to help make sure of the precious bonus – and coach Andy Robinson’s first win against the Dragons since joining the club.

The opening quarter was a disjointed and jittery affair, with neither side able to carve out a single clear-cut scoring opportunity.

Unseasonably sodden conditions also prompted a spate of basic handling errors and the frustrations of the players were reflected in the high penalty count.

Dragons edged in front after less than two minutes when Jason Tovey slotted a simple kick when Edinburgh were guilty of playing the ball on the deck.

Paterson quickly levelled with another close-range effort, though his strike was far from perfect and it just wobbled over the crossbar.

Gunners continued to have the better of territory and possession and Paterson was on target again midway through the half as Aled Brew was penalised for kicking the ball away in dissent.

The Newport winger was lucky to escape without a yellow card.

Paterson completed his treble after a maul offence as Edinburgh applied pressure, but they had a major let-off when a Brew break freed hooker Tom Willis, who let the ball slide from his grasp as he plunged over the line.

Paterson continued to rack up the points after the restart, taking his penalty tally to five as the scrappy action continued.

His first of the half was a 40-metre thump for offside, then he chipped over from point-blank range when the Dragons defence killed the ball.

Houston powered over following a quick tapped penalty by skipper Mike Blair, Paterson goaling from a wide angle.

And he was spot on yet again when another substitute, soon-to-be retired scrum half Ben Meyer, wriggled through seconds after entering the fray.

Paterson grabbed his try in the wake of an interception by Ally Hogg – and Ben Cairns completed the rout with another steal. Both were converted by Paterson.