Dragons claim derby spoils

Newport Gwent Dragons produced a comprehensive 28-20 Welsh derby victory over the Ospreys to move a step closer to securing Heineken Cup qualification for next season.

The home side ran in three tries via Will Harries, Matthew Watkins and Aled Brew to claim their win, which moved them level on points with the Ospreys in the Magners League table.

The visitors replied through James Hook and Andrew Bishop's last-gasp consolation, but the Dragons thoroughly deserved their victory in a pulsating encounter at Rodney Parade.

The home side signalled their intent when Jason Tovey kicked a 45-metre penalty after the Ospreys were penalised for diving over at a ruck.

Five minutes later and Paul Turner's side shocked the visitors with a try of rare quality.

A clever pass from Wayne Evans sent Huw Gustafson away for the prop to storm 35 metres deep into the Ospreys 22, where the ball was recycled and a neat kick from Tovey saw Harries win the touchdown in the corner.

Tovey missed the conversion but minutes later he kicked another penalty to leave the Ospreys 11 points down inside the first 10 minutes.

Opened account

Dan Biggar opened the visitors' account after 13 minutes with a 30-metre penalty and the game continued at a frenetic pace, with the Dragons having the better of the play, harrying the Ospreys into errors at almost every opportunity.

Tovey and Evans at half-back controlled matters for the hosts with some impressive tactics, Evans sniping around the scrum and ruck area and Tovey gaining large chunks of ground with some huge kicks.

Eventually the Ospreys got their game together and, after 27 minutes, following a period of sustained pressure, Hook forced his way over in the corner and Biggar kicked a splendid touchline conversion.

And minutes later the Dragons were dealt a further blow when influential flanker Dan Lydiate was helped from the field with a leg injury.

But five minutes before the interval Tovey kicked another penalty after the Ospreys were penalised for offside and, right on the stroke of half-time, the Dragons went further ahead courtesy of a magnificent solo try from Watkins.

The centre received the ball from a ruck 40 metres out and tore the Ospreys' defence apart before rounding the last defender for the score to give the Dragons a richly-deserved 21-10 interval advantage.

Second half

But the Ospreys were the first to score in the second half. Lee Byrne did brilliantly to field his own up and under to put the Dragons under pressure and, when the home side were penalised, Biggar reduced the arrears with a simple penalty after 55 minutes.

But soon after the home side went further ahead when Brew broke away from a ruck 20 metres out and burst through the tackle of Marty Holah for a try under the posts which Tovey converted.

Biggar and Ian Evans were replaced by Sonny Parker and Ian Gough as the Ospreys sought to get back into the game and gain some composure to their play.

The visitors were beginning to dominate in terms of possession and territory but frequent errors by Mike Phillips, who had a nightmare of a match, prevented them from making much headway.

They did manage a late consolation from Bishop, which Hook converted from the touchline, but it was not enough to affect the result.