Dragons 34 Scarlets 32: Judgement Day delight as Dragons edge thriller

Jason Tovey was the derby hero for the second time this season after showing nerves of steel to convert Matthew Screech’s score in the 79th minute.

The fly-half, who kicked the winner against the Ospreys in December, finished off the job after Ceri Jones’ men showed tremendous character to taste victory at Principality Stadium for the first time at the seventh time of asking.

They headed to the capital with a solitary bonus point from six previous efforts in the regional double-header but left with a five-point haul to finish another nightmare season on the biggest of highs.

It was meant to be a Scarlets five-pointer to keep alive their hopes of Champions Cup rugby but the Dragons spoiled the party.

They trailed 17-6 at half-time, stormed back to lead 27-17 thanks to tries by Screech, centre Jack Dixon and fly-half Josh Lewis.

Back came the Scarlets but the Dragons went over at the death through their big lock, the try awarded after a tortuous wait for the TMO to give the green light.

There was still time for the west Walians to fight back but Rhys Patchell’s drop goal sailed wide, sparking wild celebrations from the Rodney Parade region’s supporters, who were even more shocked than the Scarlets players.

The Dragons started brightly and went into a fourth-minute lead with a penalty by fly-half Josh Lewis against his former side.

They withstood pressure in their 22 – defending strongly for 17 phases – and reaped the rewards to double their advantage after the Scarlets were caught offside when defending pick and drives close to their line.

However, the ‘hosts’ were under the pump when referee Ben Whitehouse deemed a knock-on by Hallam Amos merited a yellow card on his farewell performance before joining Cardiff Blues.

The Scarlets made their numerical advantage count when they pounded away in the 22 before wing Ioan Nicholas went over down the left for a try.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny converted for a 7-6 lead after 20 minutes and the west Walians kept working towards a bonus by kicking penalties to the corner.

The tactic paid off when the ball was spun from the left touchline to the right after a lineout drive was stopped for wing Johnny McNicholl to finish smartly.

Number three soon followed after full-back Jordan Williams blundered by kicking the ball straight out after it was pass back to the 22.

Hard carries were followed by a Gareth Davies snipe for a commanding 17-6 lead.

The Dragons needed a response and kicked a penalty in the 22 to the corner to look for one only for the lineout to be pilfered.

That waste led to the deficit remaining at 11 points at the break with the sense that a Scarlets win with a bonus was inevitable.

Yet it was the Dragons that were agonisingly close to crossing swiftly after the restart.

A Josh Lewis burst was followed by a hack on by Ross Moriarty and the Wales number eight went over after the ball hit the post protector.

However, the back rower juggled the ball before dotting down and referee Whitehouse deemed it as a knock-on.

Yet the Dragons soon had their lifeline when a lineout drive was stopped illegally in the 22 and captain Elliot Dee took a quick tap before lock Matthew Screech powered over.

Whitehouse sin-binned lock David Bulbring and Lewis converted superbly to make it 17-13 and he was soon repeating the trick from the other flank after a cracking try.

The Dragons broke from halfway and Wales internationals Amos and Wainwright combined smartly to put centre Jack Dixon over.

It was suddenly all eastern cheers from the stands and they grew louder when Lewis picked off a pass from opposite number Dan Jones to race under the posts.

At 27-17 the Dragons were scenting a famous victory but the Scarlets responded magnificently.

Wales centre Jonathan Davies went over down the left and McNicholl scorched over down the right with Halfpenny converting the second of those efforts to wrestle the lead back 29-27 with 65 minutes gone.

Bonus in the bag, the Scarlets were now able to go for goal from penaties and Halfpenny slotted a simple effort to stretch the lead to five points with eight minutes left.

But then came the late drama with the Dragons laying siege too the line to steal the spoils in a remarkable game.

Dragons: J Williams, Z Kirchner (J Rosser 66), A Warren, J Dixon, H Amos, J Lewis (J Tovey 67), R Williams (T Knoyle 75), R Bevington (B Harris 61), E Dee (captain, R Hibbard 72), L Fairbrother (L Brown 61), J Davies (T Basham 65), M Screech, L Evans, A Wainwright, R Moriarty.
Scorers: tries – M Screech (2), J Dixon, J Lewis; conversions – J Lewis (3), J Tovey; penalties – J Lewis (2)
Yellow card: H Amos

Scarlets: L Halfpenny, J McNicholl, J Davies, H Parkes (K Fonotia 68), I Nicholas, D Jones (R Patchell 57), G Davies (K Hardy 70), W Jones, K Owens (captain), S Lee (W Kruger 65), D Bulbring (J Helps 78), S Cummins, W Boyde, J Macleod (B Thomson 49), U Cassiem. 
Scorers: tries – I Nicholas, J McNicholl (2), G Davies, J Davies; conversions – L Halfpenny (2); penalty – L Halfpenny
Yellow card: D Bulbring

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)