The Dragons had a nightmare during the first half as their error strewn performance meant that they went into the break with a deficit of 3-13, but the hosts managed to pull it back thanks to tries from replacement Richie Rees and fullback Tom Prydie.
London Welsh opened up the scoring with a penalty kick from fly half Tristan Roberts, the Men of Gwent levelling the score with a penalty from Tom Prydie just five minutes after.
It was the visitors wing Nick Scott who exploited a space in the Dragons defence in the 17th minute to go across the whitewash for the first try of the afternoon, with Roberts converting the try resulting in Welsh leading the game 10-3.
Another penalty kick from Roberts and Welsh were comfortably in the lead 13-3.
The Dragons attempted to retaliate with their own try as Lewis Evans caught a lucky bounce but decided to offload to Pat Leach just inches away from the try line. The ball was just out of Leach’s grasp and they missed a chance to close the gap on the English premiership side.
Half Time: Dragons 3 – London Welsh 13
It was replacement Richie Rees who went over the line in the second half to score the Dragons first try of the afternoon; Prydie converted to make it 10-13.
The Dragons then went into the lead as Tom Prydie scored a try after an impressive charge from replacement Scott Matthews. Prydie also added the extras to convert his own try.
After two converted tries and a penalty the Dragons went into the closing stages with the lead but were put to the test during the last ten minutes as replacement lock Ian Gough was yellow carded for a high tackle. But the home team managed to stay strong and take the win.
Final score: Newport Gwent Dragons 17 - London Welsh 13
Dragons Team: Tom Prydie, Matthew Pewtner, Pat Leach, Ashley Smith, Ashton Hewitt, Angus O’Brien, Luc Jones; Owen Evans, T. Rhys Thomas, Brok Harris, Andrew Coombs, Rynard Landman ©, Lewis Evans, James Benjamin, Nick Crosswell.
London Welsh Team: Will Robinson, Elliot Kear, Nic Reynolds, Seb Jewell ©, Nick Scott, Tristan Roberts, Piri Weepu; Nathan Trevett, Nathan Morris, Taione Vea, Ben West, James Down, Peter Browne, Richard Thorpe, Opeti Fonua.
Man of the Match: Rynard Landman
Attendance: 4,340
Referee: Darren Gamage (England)
