Beating the Blues means a lot to the Dragons players - coach Jones

Newport Gwent Dragons coach Lyn Jones praised his players' willingness to take risks after their 22-16 win over Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade.

A try by Toby Faletau and 17 points from the boot of former Blues fly-half Jason Tovey lifted the Dragons to sixth place in the Pro 12.

"It means a lot to the players - they've gone a long time without beating the Blues," said Jones.

The teams meet again at Cardiff Arms Park on New Year's Day.

It was only the third win for the Dragons in their last 14 encounters with the Blues, but it was the manner of the win which most pleased Jones.

"There was a lot of passion and a lot of desire from both sides," he added.

"To come here today and get one over them is great, and I thought we deserved it as well.

"It was a good game, people were prepared to play and you've got to play what's in front of you.

"You've got to pick your head up and if there's an overlap on your own line you've got to take it, and I was delighted with the way we imposed ourselves on the game not just in attack but our defence was fantastic."

Tovey's kicking was key to the Dragons win, but he refused to gloat after enduring a frustrating season at the Blues in the 2012-13 season.

The emergence of Rhys Patchell at Cardiff Arms Park meant Tovey was given limited opportunities after moving to Cardiff from the Dragons.

The fly-half admitted the move to Cardiff was a mistake when he returned to the Dragons in June 2013, but he was diplomatic after the Boxing Day victory.

"It's always a little bit special when you beat your former team," he said.

"But the past is the past now, and you just move on and we're just happy as a team now we're going to start pushing up the table."

The result saw the Dragons overtake the Scarlets after their fifth win of the season and the Llanelli-based region's home defeat to the Ospreys.