Pro14: Dragons 15-23 Cardiff Blues
- Published
Owen Lane celebrates one of the two tries he scored Cardiff Blues at Rodney Parade
Guinness Pro14: Dragons v Cardiff Blues |
|---|
Dragons (12) 15 |
Tries: Lewis, Rosser Cons: J Williams |
Cardiff Blues (5) 23 |
Tries: Lane 2, Dacey Cons: Anscombe Pens: Anscombe 2 |
Two tries from wing Owen Lane helped Cardiff Blues extend the Dragons' losing league record against Welsh regions.
Tries from Josh Lewis and Jared Rosser gave Dragons a first-half lead with Lane responding.
Blues dominated the second-half with tries from hooker Kristian Dacey and Lane, while man-of-the-match Gareth Anscombe excelled.
Dragons have now lost 22 consecutive Welsh league derbies.
That record goes back to December 2014 when they beat the Blues at the Arms Park.
Wales back-rower Ross Moriarty returned for the Dragons as one of eight changes from the side that lost at Munster last weekend.
Cardiff Blues welcomed back Josh Navidi and Nick Williams, who lined up alongside captain Ellis Jenkins in the back-row.
Blues made four changes from the side that defeated Cheetahs, with prop Brad Thyer and Lloyd Williams starting.
Lock Josh Turnbull made his 100th appearance for the region after reaching a century with previous region Scarlets.
Dragons' Brandon Nansen is tackled by Willis Halaholo
Home fly-half Josh Lewis missed an early penalty before captain Cory Hill was held up over the line by Lane and Thyer.
Lewis opened the scoring in the left hand corner with a try after a pass from Jordan Williams. The try went unconverted despite Lewis having two kicking attempts following an early charge.
Lewis was again involved in the second try after he was involved in a lineout move twice exchanging passes with Adam Warren before releasing Rosser. Jordan Williams converted.
Blues wing Jason Harries escaped any sanction for an aerial challenge on Dafydd Howells. The pair were again involved after Howells and Josh Lewis thwarted Harries from scoring a try following a Gareth Anscombe break.
The visitors finally gained a foothold in the game and had a try disallowed by television match official Sean Brickell after Willis Haloholo was denied collecting a Lloyd Williams chip by Warren.
Blues finally gained their rewards with a fine finish from Lane who held off three Dragons tacklers to score in the right-hand corner as Dragons led 12-5 at the interval.
Blues captain Ellis Jenkins says his side dealt with tough conditions to beat Dragons.
Wales centre Tyler Morgan returned from a hamstring injury to replace Rosser at half-time with Warren switching to the wing.
Aided by a strong wind, Anscombe reduced the deficit to one point with two long-range penalties before Williams responded for the Dragons.
Fly-half Jarrod Evans came on as a replacement and immediately made an impact by combining with Anscombe who switched to full-back.
Blues scored their second try from a well-rehearsed nine-man lineout with Wales hooker Kristian Dacey diving over in the corner.
It was the first time Blues had led and they did not look back. Anscombe took a high kick from Lewis and produced a brilliant break from his own half before being hauled down by Howells.
The ball was recycled and Lane dived over for his second try in the opposite corner after Evans and Rey Lee-Lo had combined. Anscombe converted to take the Blues two scores ahead.
Dragons' discipline started to let them down with Moriarty in particular cutting an increasingly frustrated figure as the Blues claimed victory.
Cardiff Blues head coach John Mulvihill was happy with victory in his first Welsh derby.
"We started slowly and after 20 minutes we were 12 points down. We chose to play into the wind and when we turned the corner at half-time we talked about not panicking.
"It was a fantastic game and all week the intensity has been through the roof because it was derby week.
Jackman: There's room to improve
Dragons coach Bernard Jackman was disappointed with another derby.
"We're gutted. We made some basic errors that allowed them to get into our half.
"I am proud of the boys, but we didn't get dominance at the breakdown. Their maul was powerful and they won a few penalties at the scrum.
"We know what we need to fix."
Dragons: Jordan Williams; Dafydd Howells, Adam Warren, Jarryd Sage, Jared Rosser; Josh Lewis, Rhodri Williams; Brok Harris, Elliot Dee, Leon Brown, Brandon Nansen, Cory Hill (capt), Aaron Wainwright, Ollie Griffiths, Ross Moriarty
Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Ryan Bevington, Aaron Jarvis, Huw Taylor, Nic Cudd, Tavis Knoyle, Tyler Morgan, Will Talbot-Davies.
Cardiff Blues: Matthew Morgan; Owen Lane, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Jason Harris; Gareth Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Brad Thyer, Kristian Dacey, Dmitri Arhip, George Earle, Josh Turnbull, Josh Navidi, Ellis Jenkins (capt), Nick Williams.
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Rhys Gill, Dillon Lewis, Macauley Cook, Olly Robinson, Tomos Williams, Jarrod Evans, Garyn Smith.
Referee: Ian Davies (WRU)
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris, Gareth Newman (WRU)
TMO: Sean Brickell (WRU)
For the latest Welsh rugby news follow @BBCScrumV, external on Twitter.