IT WAS groundhog day at the greyhound stadium of Galway as Newport Gwent Dragons endured a 29-23 defeat in their Guinness Pro12 opener against Connacht.

Their wait for a win at the Sportsground will stretch to 12 years at least after paying the price for a sluggish start, although they did earn the consolation of a bonus point for the fourth year in the last five.

The Dragons showed flashes of what they can do but made too many mistakes and allowed Connacht, never a side to chase, to enjoy a commanding 14-3 lead at the break.

However, a spirited second half display meant the game was in the balance in the closing stages and Tom Prydie salvaged a losing bonus point with the final kick.

The Dragons should get their campaign up and running when they welcome Zebre to Rodney Parade on Friday but, alas, they have suffered another loss to a team they want to rival for Champions Cup qualification.

The Dragons and the Connacht team may have been waiting a long time for the big kick-off but Galway was a tad preoccupied with other sporting matters.

There was claret and white bunting throughout the city with signs declaring 'Gaillimh Abu'(roughly translated as 'go Galway') ahead of Sunday's all-Ireland hurling final against Kilkenny.

They will be attempting to end a 27-year wait for glory at Croke Park while the Dragons were trying to end an 11-year hoodoo at the Sportsground, the land where full-backs face trial by gale-force winds.

Thankfully, like last season, the fixture computer had conjured a round one encounter and it was a crisp evening perfect for running rugby.

Yet it was the kicking game that got the Dragons in trouble in the opening exchanges – they lost the territorial battle and were punished twice by the right boot of home fly-half Jack Carty, the man who was caught by Rynard Landman's elbow in the Rodney Parade meeting last season.

The visitors grew into the game with debutants Sarel Pretorius, Adam Warren, Nick Scott and Ed Jackson all playing their part in promising attacks but they wasted a chance for a settler when full-back Carl Meyer pushed a very kickable penalty attempt in the 15th minute.

And the South African was made to pay just past the quarter when the Dragons were pinged for offside from his clearance kick, Carty once again bisecting the points for a 9-0 lead.

Connacht are not a side that you want to chase yet the lead was stretched after the hosts exploited yet more errors approaching the half hour.

Meyer knocked on an aerial bomb, tighthead Shaun Knight went straight to ground from the resulting scrum and Connacht went to the corner.

The first drive was stopped illegally and the second crashed over the line with Nepia Fox-Matamua making it 14-0.

Fly-half Jason Tovey settled the nerves with a penalty and they were probably happy to be just 14-3 down at the break so sluggish, rusty and error-strewn was their opening half of the campaign.

Perhaps there was hurling of a different kind in Galway with tea cups thrown across the away changing room by the management team but the Dragons needed a rapid response – and they duly came flying out.

Tovey made a lovely break that saw wing Nick Scott and scrum-half Sarel Pretorius go agonisingly close before the South African sniped over.

The conversion made it 14-10 but Connacht responded terrifically and their pressure saw wing Danie Poolman go over for a five-pointer in the 50th minute following number eight Eoghan Masterson's hard carry from the back of a scrum inside the 22.

The Dragons can right back at them with impressive Ed Jackson carrying and carrying, his appetite for work never dimming, and Tovey boomed over another penalty to make it 19-13 approaching the hour.

However, Connacht scented blood and piled on the pressure in the 22 before eventually settling for another Carty penalty after some desperate Dragons defence.

Back came the spirited visitors and they hammered away at the line before replacement flanker James Thomas powered over, Tovey's extras making it 22-20 with five minutes left.

But the dreams were cruelly dashed when turnover ball inside the Connacht half led to hugely impressive centre Bundee Aki bursting clear and drawing last man Tom Prydie to put wing Fionn Carr over.

Carty's conversion meant the Dragons were out of bonus point range but Prydie showed nerves of steel to boom over a fantastic penalty to earn a consolation.

Connacht: T O'Halloran, D Poolman, R Parata, B Aki, M Healy (F Carr 57), J Carty, K Marmion ( J Cooney 16), D Buckley (JP Cooney 62), T McCartney, R Ah You (F Bealham 72), Q Roux (B Marshall 54), A Browne, J Muldoon (captain), N Fox-Matamua, E Masterson (E McKeon 61).

Scorers: tries – N Fox-Matamua, D Poolman, F Carr; conversion – J Carty; penalties – J Carty (4)

Dragons: C Meyer (T Morgan 61), T Prydie, R Wardle, A Warren, N Scott, J Tovey (D Jones 79), S Pretorius (C Davies 64), B Stankovich (P Price 57), R Thomas (captain, H Gustafson 61), S Knight (B Harris 54), C Hill, R Landman, N Crosswell (J Thomas 62), N Cudd (J Benjamin 68), E Jackson.

Scorers: tries – S Pretorius, J Thomas; conversions – J Tovey (2); penalties – J Tovey (2), T Prydie

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Attendance: 3,624

Argus star man: Ed Jackson