SALUTE the history boys.

With one of the most complete performances they have ever delivered, Edinburgh became the first Scottish club to win a place in a European final as they routed the Dragons in this Challenge Cup semi-final at Murrayfield last night. The capital side now march on to Twickenham Stoop and a May 1 clash with the winner of today's contest between Gloucester and Exeter.

Missing a raft of players, and up against an in-form and full-strength Dragons side, the expectation was that Edinburgh would struggle to make their home advantage tell. So much for expectations. Aside form a brief spell at the start of the second half, Edinburgh enjoyed massive superiority from start to finish. This was close to their best-ever result in Europe. It might also be marked down as their most significant.

Edinburgh had stars all over the pitch. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne had another superb evening, delivering 25 of his side's points - an individual record in Europe for the club - while Ben Toolis, the official Man of the Match, propelled himself back into international contention with a magnificent display. But there were really no weaknesses in this Edinburgh side, least of all in the spirit and self-belief they showed.

Edinburgh could be forgiven for easing off a little towards the end, by which time they had five tries in their account. They had taken a 21-9 lead into the interval, yet even that commanding lead did not even begin to hint at their overall superiority. Slick and strong, they had hammered the Dragons in every phase and the Welsh side were flattered beyond belief by the three soft penalties that had allowed fly-half Dorian Jones to give them a presence on the scoreboard.

The key to Edinburgh's dominance was the quick-wittedness of their half-backs. These days, scrum-half Hidalgo-Clyne only has to step over the touchline to have supporters purring with appreciation, and he had solid support from Phil Burleigh, whose smooth performance belie the fact that he is only an occasional starter at fly-half.

The sure and precise kicking of both players kept Edinburgh on the front foot, and the pack rewarded them by making the most of the territory gained. Lock Toolis put in a wonderfully conspicuous shift, but it was an eight-man operation as the home forwards pounded the Dragons at the scrum, embarrassed them in the lineout and showed far more devil and aggression in contact.

The Dragons' woes were reflected when Toby Faletau was yellow-carded for their umpteenth breakdown offence when the game was just nine minutes old. That incident allowed Hidalgo-Clyne to match Jones's early penalty, but Edinburgh had the scent of Dragon blood and they began to crank up the pressure.

Their reward arrived in the 15th minute when Stuart McInally, back in his old position on the flank, broke away with the ball from 20 yards out, blasted past three would-be tacklers and finished off with Edinburgh's first try, to which Hidalgo-Clyne duly added the extras.

Jones replied with another penalty - a technical offence that was certainly not the consequence of any Dragons pressure - a little later, but the pattern of the first half was already set. Burleigh kept turning the Welsh defence with his tactical kicks, and the Edinburgh pack kept bashing their opponents out of the way.

The Dragons dam was to break a second time in the 22nd minute. By now, Faletau was back on the pitch, but his presence made little apparent difference to the flow of the game. Edinburgh maintained possession through a series of phases deep in the Dragons' half, and a beautifully disguised back-of-hand pass by Hidalgo-Clyne sent Tim Visser steaming down the left touchline and over for the second try.

Hidalgo-Clyne hit his conversion attempt against the post, but the scrum-half would add two more penalties - to one by Jones - before the break. At that stage, it was difficult to recall a single period of Dragons pressure, but the Rodney Parade outfit finally managed to string together a few phases early in the second half and they gained reward in the 44th minute when prop Brok Harris peeled away from a maul on the Edinburgh line and thrust himself over for a try.

Jones's conversion cut Edinburgh's lead to five points, but there was no obvious sign of panic in the capital side's ranks. They would dominate the remainder of the third quarter and, after scrum-half Jonathan Evans became the second Dragon to visit the sin bin, managed to collect a third try when Toolis charged down Jason Tovey's loose clearance and followed up to score.

Just after the hour mark, Edinburgh drove the Dragons off their own scrum ball and Hidalgo-Clyne raced away for the fourth try. The conversion took the scoreline to 38-16, and Dougie Fife carried them past 40 when he scored the fifth, 12 minutes from the end.

The only possible disappointment was that the crowd, at 8,231, fell far short of the five-figure attendance Edinburgh had hoped for. But those who did come saluted their heroes mightily at the finish - then set off home to plan their trips to London in two weeks' time.