Blues claim bragging rights

An entertaining first half saw Cardiff Blues get off to a flyer thanks to a try for Shingler, but Ashton Hewitt hit back for the Dragons to make it 13-13 all on 30 minutes.

However, Cardiff finished the opening period much the stronger with tries from Kristian Dacey and then Josh Navidi to take an 11-point lead into half-time.

And that was how it remained after the break following a scoreless second 40 minutes in which handling errors and improved defence shut down the two teams.

The Blues made the perfect start when Shingler powered over on the shortside down the right, slipping out of a couple of tackles before nailing the conversion from the touchline. That gave the home side a 7-0 lead after barely two minutes.

Under pressure from the off, the Dragons fought back with a penalty from Angus O’Brien after a good scrum to cut the deficit ten minutes later.

But they allowed Cardiff to cancel that out with a penalty for obstruction from an up and under, and Shingler needed no second invitation to make it 10-3.

The teams were then temporarily reduced to 14 men apiece, Rey Lee-Lo sin-binned for a high tackle for the Blues a minute before Rynard Landman joined him for a dangerous clearout.

O'Brien and Shingler slotted the resulting penalties to make it 13-6 the home side, but the Dragons coped better a man down to level the scores just before the half-hour.

With possession just inside the Cardiff 22, O'Brien spotted some space in behind and played a perfect grubber with Hewitt racing through for the simplest of finishes. The flyhalf added the extras to tie it up.

But with both players back the Blues took control once again after a long period of possession in Dragons territory. While the defence held initially, some good carrying from Nick Williams put the visitors on the back foot, and Dacey then twisted out of a tackle and over the line. Shingler added the easy conversion to put Cardiff back in front at 20-13.

O'Brien showed his kicking range with a long-range penalty after Navidi was pinged as they Dragons kept it close.

But right on the stroke of half-time the Blues took control with an elusive run through from Shingler, dummying one way before delivering the ball to Navidi for the run-in. His conversion made it 27-16 at the break.

While the first half was a free-scoring affair, the defences tightened up in the second, with both teams struggling to add to their scores.

The Dragons will have been particularly frustrated at coming away with nothing from one extended spell in the

Matthew Morgan could have stretched the Blues lead, but his penalty effort drifted just wide when Nick Crosswell was penalised for a late tackle.

And in the dying stages the Dragons looked like they might come away with a losing bonus point when Sam Beard sliced through but when he was hauled down, the visitors couldn’t recycle quickly enough and eventually conceded a penalty for holding on.

The scorers:

For Cardiff Blues:

Tries: Shingler, Dacey, Navidi

Cons: Shingler 3

Pens: Shingler 2

For Dragons:

Try: Hewitt

Con: O'Brien

Pens: O'Brien 3

Yellow Cards: Rey Lee-Lo (Cardiff Blues, 19) Rynard Landman Landman (Newport Gwent Dragons, 21)

Teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Corey Allen, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Josh Navidi, 5 James Down, 4 Macauley Cook, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill.

Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Taufa’ao Filise, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Nicky Robinson, 23 Garyn Smith.

Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Tom Prydie, 14 Pat Howard, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Lewis Evans (captain), 5 Rynard Landman, 4 Cory Hill, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 1 Sam Hobbs.

Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Brok Harris, 19 Matthew Screech, 20 Nick Crosswell, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Dorian Jones, 23 Sam Beard.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Assistant Referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Sean Brickell (Wales)

TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

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