THEY played in a near-empty Murrayfield in non-stop rain, but Edinburgh proved to be a delightful place for Newport Gwent Dragons.

A near-perfect display of wet-weather rugby ensured Paul Turner’s team took the four points against an Edinburgh side that had been hoping to join Magners League leaders Leinster on 22 points.

Yet not even a Ben Kay moment for 18-year-old Toby Faletau on debut, when he spilled the ball with the line at his mercy with a minute left, could deny the Dragons.

Turner and his coaching staff did jigs that put David Pleat to shame at the final whistle – it was a fantastic, backs-to-the-wall victory.

It was an evening where fans were encouraged to come in fancy dress but there was no disguising a typical Dragons performance.

All of the attributes that are associated with the region – physicality, hard graft, teamwork and generally being a pain in their opponents’ backside – were present.

That ensured that even without Tom Willis, Luke Charteris, Joe Bearman, Dan Lydiate, Ashley Smith and a host of props, the four points were secured against a Gunners outfit able to call on their Scottish internationals.

Flanker Gavin Thomas was superb and was backed up by scrum-half Wayne Evans, number eight Grant Webb and lock Rob Sidoli, who enjoyed the game far more than the infamous Wales game at Murrayfield where he competed at a line-out in his socks.

The Dragons received a pre-match fillip when Chris Paterson, Edinburgh’s metronomic kicker, was forced to sit out the game with a foot infection while his Scotland team-mate Alan MacDonald was sidelined by a tight calf.

An indication of the woeful conditions, which had seen the Scottish Premier League clash between Dundee United and Rangers slightly further north abandoned at half-time, was given by the groundsman leaving the painting of the lines to the very last minute.

If anyone was umming and aahing about heading to the game then the rain would have made their mind up, which meant there was a crowd of 2,066 in the 67,500-capacity ground.

It served to make the atmosphere of the Liberty Stadium seem like Buenos Aires, and the man on the Tannoy was pushing it somewhat when he announced before kick-off “let’s hear the Murrayfield roar”.

The Dragons were faster out of the blocks than their hosts and pinned the Gunners on the back foot with an intelligent kicking game with the greasy ball.

However, they were held up by a creaking line-out that was pinched twice in the opening exchanges and scrappy when the Dragons were in prime attacking location five yards short of the line.

They did get a reward for their efforts on 16 minutes when fly-half James Arlidge booted a penalty after Allan Jacobsen had failed to roll away 15 yards out, bang in front of the sticks.

The Dragons had their tactics spot on – playing risk-free rugby and putting boot to ball – while the hosts were, if anything, guilty of playing too much rugby and were spilling the ball far more.

The territorial advantage paid off with another Arlidge penalty on 23 minutes and Edinburgh were incurring the wrath of referee Alan Lewis.

The penalty count killed the Dragons the week before in Llanelli, but it was their opponents who were hindered in Scotland, Arlidge bisecting the posts again on the half-hour to establish a nine-point lead.

Hard Dragons graft in defence also frustrated Edinburgh, with centre Ben Cairns forced from the field after being scragged when making a half-break, and their fans who were beginning to get on the backs of their team.

Full-back Jason Tovey was just wide with a drop goal approaching half-time as the Dragons tried to build a score and they would have been content with how the first 40 minutes went.

They would have had it drummed into them by the coaching staff that they would face a sterner test after the break, and so it proved as Edinburgh looked to rescue the situation.

The hosts put the squeeze on, and after pummelling the Dragons scrum went on a series of pick and drives inches short of the line with 49 minutes gone.

A try looked certain when blindside flanker Scott Newlands picked up the ball and went to go over but he was driven back by skipper Steve Jones and he knocked on.

Edinburgh were camped in the Dragons 22 and a yellow card seemed certain as Lewis began to ping the visitors, who were being hindered by their creaking scrum.

But the heroics of the Dragons’ defence, led magnificently by openside Gavin Thomas, paid off when the Gunners opted to finally go for goal with fly-half Phil Godman knocking the ball over on 57 minutes.

The holes started to appear, and after a powerful charge into Dragons territory by skipper Allister Hogg, the ball was spun out wide for replacement wing Andrew Turnbull to slide over.

Crucially the conversion was wide to leave the Dragons clinging on to a one-point lead, and there were some nervous moments when Edinburgh went on the attack, particularly when Godman dropped into the pocket and fired off a drop- goal attempt that just drifted wide.

Then came Faletau’s horror moment but thankfully the 18-year-old was not left to rue it.

Edinburgh: S Jones, J Houston (A Turnbull 40), B Cairns (M Robertson 31), N De Luca, T Visser, P Godman, G Laidlaw (M Blair 57), A Jacobsen, R Ford (A Kelly 57), G Cross, S Turnbull, S MacLeod, S Newlands, R Grant, A Hogg (captain).

Scorers: Tries – A Turnbull; penalties – P Godman.

Newport Gwent Dragons: J Tovey, A Brew, T Riley (R Davies 69), M Watkins, R Fussell, J Arlidge, W Evans, H Gustafson (P Palmer 73, J Harris 76)), S Jones (captain, D Goodfield 60), P Palmer (P Bracken 68), R Sidoli, A Jones, H MacDonald, G Thomas, G Webb (T Faletau 71).

Scorers: Penalties – J Arlidge (3).

Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland).

Attendance: 2,066.

Argus star man: G Thomas.