The hard work done in the group stage has paved the way for Edinburgh’s extended run in Europe and ensured they will have home advantage in the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-final against Bath. Grant Gilchrist, the Edinburgh co-captain, believes it could be “a really special year” for the club who now find themselves one game away from the final in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. There is a big obstacle to overcome before that, of course, and the prospect of Finn Russell turning at Hive Stadium on Saturday, May 3 (3pm) is one to savour. While it will be a searching examination of just how far the team have come under Sean Everitt, they will be confident of taking on anyone in their own backyard. Gilchrist felt Edinburgh played some “world class” rugby to build a first-half lead against the Bulls in the quarter-final on Saturday but they needed defensive grit in the second period as the visitors scored three tries to close the gap. Edinburgh eventually won 34-28 to make it two wins in a row in the Challenge Cup against South African opposition, having disposed of the Lions in the round of 16. Playing both those ties, and the semi-final, at Hive Stadium is a consequence of Everitt’s side winning Pool 3 which gave them a high seeding as the competition moved into the knockout phase. “It is something we spoke about in the pool stages,” said Gilchrist. “We knew getting that third seeding was going to be really important. Externally people thought we were deluded to be thinking about home semi-finals but we spoke about it for a reason, because we knew when we got big days like Saturday, the rewards would be even higher if we got that seeding. We now bring [Bath or Gloucester] here rather than going to their place. That’s going to be a really special day for the club.” Gilchrist, who scored Edinburgh’s fourth try on Saturday, believes there is a lot more to come from the team who have won four of their last five since the horror home defeat by Zebre in February. “This team is getting better and better each week,” said the lock. “That first half was world-class rugby and we know we have got more in us. We know we have got an 80-minute performance in us, but it is a good place to be. This could be a really special year for this club. “We are the first to admit some of our performances have been a bit disjointed, not really consistent. But what we’ve seen from post-Zebre onwards, there is a level of commitment and energy and accuracy, and that clunkiness is coming out of us game by game. We look more and more of an attacking threat.” Gilchrist is part of the threat, after scoring his third try in 10 matches. James Lang, with a first-half double, got things going for the home side and the impressive Magnus Bradbury also weighed in with a try. Ross Thompson was immaculate with the boot, adding 14 points, and they were needed. The Bulls had trailed 31-7 early in the second half but a penalty try and further scores from Cameron Hanekom and David Kriel - his second of the match - made it a nervy finish.