Dragons pile misery on Scarlets in derby win

WRAP: The Dragons continued their late-season revival by climbing to 10th on the United Rugby Championship table after overpowering bottom-placed Scarlets 28-5 in a one-sided Welsh derby at Rodney Parade.

After enduring a miserable 2024-25 campaign that saw them anchored to the foot of the standings, the Newport outfit has found momentum over their winter months, backing up their improved form with a third successive home victory.

The contest itself offered little in the way of sparkle before the break. The Dragons edged into a 7-5 half-time lead courtesy of Tinus de Beer’s early try in the eighth minute, converted by Angus O’Brien.

Scarlets responded through Ellis Mee on 34 minutes, but the winger was unable to add the extras, leaving the visitors trailing narrowly at the interval.

Any hopes of a fightback were effectively extinguished moments after the restart when Scarlets lock Max Douglas was shown a 20-minute red card, a setback the Dragons ruthlessly exploited.

Hooker Oli Burrows and wing David Richards crossed in quick succession as the home side surged into a commanding 21-5 advantage.

The bonus-point victory was sealed five minutes from time when replacement hooker George Roberts forced his way over, underlining the Dragons’ growing confidence and control.

For the Scarlets, the defeat deepens a worrying slide. After reaching the play-offs last season, they now find themselves rooted to the bottom of the URC standings, with back-to-back festive losses to the Ospreys and Dragons raising uncomfortable questions about their direction and form.

Find all Thursday’s scores and scorers below…

Dragons 28-5 Scarlets

The scorers:

For Scarlets:
Tries: De Beer, Burrows, Richards, Roberts
Cons: O’Brien 3

For Dragons:
Try: Mee

Teams:

Dragons: 15 Angus O’Brien (co-captain), 14 David Richards, 13 Fine Inisi, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Che Hope, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Harry Beddall, 6 Harri Keddie, 5 Ben Carter (co-captain), 4 Ryan Woodman, 3 Robert Hunt, 2 Oli Burrows, 1 Rodrigo Martinez.
Replacements: 16 George Roberts, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Levi Douglas, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Joe Westwood, 23 Ewan Rosser.

Scarlets: 15 Ioan Nicholas, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Joe Hawkins, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Fletcher Anderson, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Harvey Cuckson, 4 Max Douglas, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Kemsley Mathias.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Josh Morse, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Dan Davis, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Carwyn Leggatt-Jones, 23 Macs Page.

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
TMO: Craig Evans (Wales)

Ospreys 33-22 Cardiff

The scorers:

For Ospreys:
Tries: Giles, Hardy 2, Parry, Hopkins
Cons: D Edwards 4

For Cardiff:
Tries: Adams 2, Faletau, Sebastian
Cons: Sheedy

Teams:

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh (co-captain), 14 Iestyn Hopkins, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 Ryan Smith, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry (co-captain), 1 Garyn Phillips.
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Steffan Thomas, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 James Fender, 20 Morgan Morse, 21 Gwilym Evans, 22 Phil Cokanasiga, 23 Max Nagy.

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Mason Grady, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Alun Lawrence, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Alex Mann, 5 George Nott, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (captain), 1 Danny Southworth.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 James Botham, 21 Taulupe Faletau, 22 Aled Davies, 23 Jacob Beetham.

Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales), Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
TMO: Craig Evans (Wales)