United Rugby Championship: Dragons 9-16 Cardiff - Visitors continue grip on derby

Mason Grady scored his sixth career try for Cardiff

Mason Grady scored the only try of a muted derby to hand Cardiff a remarkable 17th league win in a row over local rivals Dragons.

The Wales centre marked his return with a breakaway try just before half-time while Tinus de Beer kicked 11 points.

Dragons, without a win in this fixture since 2014, claimed a late bonus point through Angus O'Brien's third penalty.

But they were made to pay for a poor kicking game and wing Jared Rosser's blunder to miss an easy try.

The stakes had been raised after both sides threw away home wins on the opening weekend of the season.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan had said they had to win at all costs and their front five, spearheaded by hooker Bradley Roberts, carried hard.

Wing Ashton Hewitt was lively, but Dragons lacked composure in midfield and were out-kicked by Cardiff half-backs De Beer and Tomos Williams.

Cardiff's back row, bolstered by the late return of Thomas Young, also outplayed their Dragons counterparts who lost Dan Lydiate for "personal reasons" before what would have been a second debut for the club following his return in the summer.

It swiftly got worse for Dragons who lost three more forwards inside 25 minutes as prop Rodrigo Martinez, flanker Sean Lonsdale and number eight Harrison Keddie all hobbled off.

Rival fly-halves O'Brien and De Beer traded penalties in a subdued opening quarter, but the Cardiff playmaker's boot proved far more effective.

His clever left-footed kick almost set up Theo Cabango, but the wing failed to gather the wet ball from Grady's offload.

O'Brien then paid the price for an ill-advised chip over the on-rushing Cardiff defence when Tomos Williams deflected the ball into the hands of Teddy Williams who released Grady for a clear run from halfway.

O'Brien's penalty trimmed Cardiff's lead to 13-6 at half-time, and Dragons should have struck again just 90 seconds into the second half.

Roberts made headway before scrum-half Dane Blacker probed the blindside with a smart kick that found Rosser unmarked.

However, the wing dithered as he waited for a kind bounce before stumbling over the try line without the ball. It would have been comical had it not been so crucial for the Dragons who held their collective heads in their hands.

Hewitt twice went close and prop Leon Brown came off the bench to make an immediate impact on the Dragons scrum.

But a needless late hit by his fellow replacement front-row Rhodri Jones on Ellis Jenkins allowed De Beer to nudge Cardiff out of reach before O'Brien's late third penalty grabbed the consolation of a losing bonus point for the hosts.

Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan:

"We came in with a plan, but we lost three players really early so I'm really proud of the way the players adapted and we nearly found a way.

"The bounce of the ball went one way for their try and against us for a possible score, but we need to stop being an almost team.

"We seem to put pressure on ourselves against Cardiff and listen to the negativity of this run. We need to turn up full of optimism, but the mindset is hard to shift."

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt:

"It was about getting the job done. It certainly wasn't a classic, but derbies rarely are in terms of attack and attacking flair. However, we ground it out.

"We kicked well given the strong wind and the Wales boys coming back made a real impact."

Dragons: Jordan Williams, Jared Rosser, Sio Tomkinson, Steff Hughes (capt), Ashton Hewitt, Angus O'Brien, Dane Blacker; Rodrigo Martinez, Bradley Roberts, Lloyd Fairbrother, Matthew Screech, Ben Carter, George Nott, Sean Lonsdale, Harri Keddie.

Replacements: James Benjamin, Rhodri Jones, Leon Brown, Joe Davies, Brodie Coghlan, Rhodri Williams, Will Reed, Jack Dixon.

Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Aled Summerhill, Mason Grady, Willis Halaholo, Theo Cabango; Tinus de Beer, Tomos Williams; Corey Domachowski, Liam Belcher (capt), Kieran Assiratti, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Teddy Williams, Elis Jenkins, Thomas Young, Seb Davies.

Replacements: Ethan Daniel, Rhys Carre, Rhys Litterick, Rory Thornton, Lucas De La Rua, Ellis Bevan, Ben Thomas, Harri Millard.

Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)

Assistant referees: Elgan Williams & Ben Connor (WRU)

TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)