Edinburgh kept up their push for a Celtic Cup quarter-final spot with a comprehensive demolition of the Newport Gwent Dragons at Murrayfield.

The victory means the race with Glasgow for Scotland’s number one seeds for next season’s Heineken Cup is set to go all the way.

The Gunners bounced back from the loss of prop Craig Smith to a yellow card for killing the ball in a ruck to notch the opening try of the game. Edinburgh hooker Andy Kelly grabbed the five-pointer by crashing over following a lineout deep inside Dragons’ territory.

The Dragons threatened to bounce back but lacked the finishing touch required to bring their efforts some reward.
And instead of getting back into the game they received a further blow when Marcus Di Rollo made an incisive break before feeding Simon Webster who raced on to score his side’s second try. Paterson made no mistake with the conversion.

Forward Simon Taylor added to the Dragons’ woes soon after by powering through from the base of the scrum after Montgomery was pressured into hoofing the ball over his own try line. Edinburgh stepped up the tempo once again as the interval approached and the crucial bonus point was secured when Ally Hogg went over. Paterson slotted both conversions to cement Edinburgh’s hold on the game.

The match as a contest was all but over soon after the break when Paterson got on the end of a pass from Phil Godman to skip in under the crossbar, and he added the extras to his personal tally.

The win for the Gunners atoned for the two losses in the Heineken Cup against The Dragons and ensured that Nathan Hines and Brendan Laney to bowed out in style in their last home league appearance for the club