DRAGONS boss Ceri Jones hailed his side’s “old school Gwent” traits after they stunned the Scarlets to break their Judgement Day duck.

The Rodney Parade region triumphed 34-32 in a Principality Stadium thriller, their first victory at the double header at the seventh time of asking.

Lock Matthew Screech’s second try at the death was followed by Jason Tovey’s conversion to stun the Scarlets.

The Dragons trailed 17-6 at half-time but stormed back to lead 27-22 thanks to tries by Screech, centre Jack Dixon and fly-half Josh Lewis.

The West Walians responded well and crossed for five tries but Jones’ men showed character for a victory that lifts them above the Kings at the bottom of Conference B of the Guinness PRO14.

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“This is a group that hasn’t had much success, not only this year but in the past, so to get the monkey off our back, not only at Judgement Day but away from Rodney Parade was pleasing,” said Jones.

“The Scarlets were chasing that bonus point and played very well, so it wasn’t a victory because of luck, it was hard work and determination and I am very proud of the boys.

“It was an interesting discussion at half-time, I don’t often lose my temper but I did a bit because we controlled the first 15 to 20 minutes and our drive got us into the game.

“We were in a good place and were putting the Scarlets under pressure but (Hallam Amos) gave a dubious yellow card away and on the back of that went a little bit crazy.

“We spoke about coming back out and trying to dominate them up front and show people what we can do.”

The Dragons did that to end another disappointing season on a stunning high, adding to their fine derby efforts this season.

They were edged out by Cardiff Blues twice, beat the Ospreys in Newport in December to end a four-year drought against Welsh rivals and battled hard in Llanelli and Swansea.

“The challenge is to turn those derby performances into consistent performances throughout the year,” said Jones.

“I have spoken a lot about this group and we have to take confidence from this and we have got to move forward.

“We showed against the Scarlets how tough we can be, how resilient we can be and how hard-working we can be.

“Those sound to me like traits of a old-school Gwent team and if we start to show them going forward then I will be very proud of this team.

“We’ve been pretty good in the Welsh derbies throughout the year but we need to be better than that.”

The Dragons end the season with just five wins but avoided the ignominy of finishing bottom of Conference B thanks to their success and the Kings’ loss to the Cheetahs.

“We understand where we have finished in the league and that we can’t just raise ourselves for derbies. That’s the challenge,” said Jones.

“It was a really enjoyable victory and a really good game of rugby, and that’s important because we need four regions that can go out there and all perform and put in those performances.

“I spoke before the game about us going out there and giving a performance that we are proud of and something that can give us momentum for next year.

“At times this season we have shown what sort of a team we can be. Consistency is now the key, can we keep that level of intent? If we show the characteristics I mentioned earlier then we will be a difficult team to beat.”