A CHANGE of scene didn’t bring about a change of fortunes as the Dragons endured another Guinness PRO14 disappointment against Edinburgh in Ebbw Vale.

The region showed some spirit in the second half after a woeful first 40 minutes to give themselves a sniff thanks to a Rynard Landman brace but they could have no complaints about a 25-12 defeat to the Scottish play-off hopefuls.

Edinburgh had a bit of a wobble but finished strongly and were good value for a bonus-point win.

The Dragons only showed some urgency after going 15-0 down and look a side low on confidence, giving the supporters in the north very little to cheer on a perishing evening.

The region shifted the game from Rodney Parade to Eugene Cross Park and sadly it didn’t bring an end to their woe away from Newport.

Including last year’s derby with Cardiff Blues in Caerphilly and Judgement Day fixtures, it’s now 34 games since they triumphed at Treviso in March, 2015.

Not that Rodney Parade has been a PRO14 fortress of late – it’s now five months since the last league win against the Kings in September, and the winless South Africans will be eyeing a first scalp in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

This season’s disappointments have been shrugged off with the realisation that it’s a rebuilding project but a loss at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium would put the tin hat on a nightmare campaign.

It was a second week running that the Dragons were beaten by a well-drilled side but unlike the fixture with Benetton this was no sob story of a game thrown away.

The early months of the campaign featured offloading and fun but that has disappeared – the back three of Wales star Hallam Amos, Rio Dyer and Jared Rosser were in danger of frostbite.

Edinburgh headed to Wales in good form and it showed from the off with almost four minutes of constant pressure that was, after they were held up over the line, rewarded with a penalty for scrum-half Sam Hidalgo-Clyne.

From that start the game slightly lost its way, reflecting the subdued atmosphere.

The crowd needed something to warm them up on a perishing night and lock Joe Davies obliged with a huge hit, absolutely levelling Wales 7s winger Jason Harries and forcing a knock-on.

The Dragons moved into the 22 for the first time approaching the 20-minute mark but Dorian Jones, who had been in fine form pulled a drop goal he would normally knock over in his sleep.

The Scots made the most of that escape by stretching their lead on 23 minutes with a scrum penalty kicked to the corner for a driving lineout try for hooker Neil Cochrane that Hidalgo-Clyne converted.

At 10-0 the Dragons needed to strike next and they should have only for Zane Kirchner, who had temporarily moved from midfield to fly-half while Jones had a cut stitched, to miss a penalty from in front of the posts.

It was a horror effort that came on the back of his nightmare from the tee against Benetton.

There was no more scoring in the first half with the hosts pretty content to not be further back after having to soak up pressure in their 22.

The Dragons hadn’t fired a shot and many fans would have been tempted by the warmth of their front rooms and the France-Italy game as they mulled things over during a half-time break that was extended due to Edinburgh’s trek to the cricket pavilion.

And those that stayed must have been questioning the wisdom of that decision when just three minutes into the second half Edinburgh stretched clear with centre Chris Dean waltzing through the defence to make it 15-0.

The Dragons needed some inspiration and had a chance for a swift response from season’s biggest weapon – the driving lineout. It rather summed their night up when hooker Liam Belcher overthrew his man.

Thankfully they got another go and this time it worked, albeit with lock Rynard Landman peeling off the back and reaching over.

Jones banged over the conversion and the Dragons had a sniff at 15-7 down after 52 minutes.

However, Edinburgh responded with a bout of territorial dominance that kept the hosts at arm’s length going into the final quarter.

But it was game on after 66 minutes when Charlie Davies sniped from a ruck a la Sarel Pretorius and stayed calm to give Landman a run-in for a brace.

The conversion missed but the Dragons were right back in it at 15-12 with replacements Harri Keddie and Ollie Griffiths making a big difference.

But no sooner were they within reach than Edinburgh stretched back away with a corker of a score, replacement fly-half Duncan Weir finishing off after lovely handling by tighthead Murray McCallum and scrum-half Nathan Fowles.

The conversion missed and at 20-12 down the Dragons needed a swift response but it didn’t come and instead it was the visitors who ended on the front foot to get their bonus point with a driving lineout score by hooker Cameron Fenton.

Dragons: H Amos, R Dyer, Z Kirchner, J Dixon, J Rosser, D Jones (S Pretorius 20-30), C Davies (S Pretorius 71), S Hobbs (G Ellis 71), L Belcher (E Shipp 76), L Brown (L Fairbrother 45), J Davies, R Landman, A Wainwright (O Griffiths 36), J Benjamin (H Keddie 45), L Evans (captain).

Scorers: tries – R Landman (2); conversion – D Jones

Edinburgh: D Fife, J Harries, J Johnstone, C Dean (J Rasolea 58), D van der Merwe, J van der Walt (D Weir 67), S Hidalgo-Clyne (N Fowles 67), J Lay (R Sutherland 54), N Cochrane (C Fenton 74), M McCallum (E Millar-Mills 72), F McKenzie (captain), L Carmichael, M Bradbury, J Hardie (L Crosbie), B Mata (C du Preez 67).

Scorers: tries – N Cochrane, C Dean, D Weir, C Fenton; conversion – S Hidalgo-Clyne; penalty – S Hidaldo-Clyne

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Attendance: 4,052

Argus star man: Ollie Griffiths