Blues slip past Dragons

Cardiff Blues kept themselves in the Magners League title race by edging past local rivals Newport Gwent Dragons 20-14 at Rodney Parade on Friday night.

The Blues, who sit just outside the top four play-off places, could get through if Ospreys see off Munster on Saturday and Cardiff then beat the Irishmen at home in two weeks time.

The result almost certainly ends Dragons' hopes of reaching those play-offs, barring a mathematical miracle.

Bright

Dragons made a bright start, with outside-half James Arlidge booting a penalty to put them 3-0 ahead, before skipper Tom Willis stormed the field to allow flanker Gavin Thomas to feed prop Ben Castle for an unconverted try in the corner.

Blues got on the scoreboard when the Dragons infringed on their 22, with full-back Ben Blair comfortably sending over a penalty to make it 8-3.

But the visitors were dealt a severe blow when number eight Andy Powell was led off the pitch with a calf injury - a worrying factor for their Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final against London Wasps next weekend.

Dragons then almost posted a second try when number eight Toby Faletau picked up from a ruck and fed wing Will Harries for a corner score, but referee Alain Rolland disallowed it for a forward pass.

Blues stepped up a gear after the break, with added pressure on the hosts causing them to make careless mistakes.

From these errors, Blair was awarded two penalty chances but kicked both wide of the posts before succeeding with his third effort from 20 metres when the Dragons went offside.

Finally the Blues crossed the line with two tries just a few minutes apart on the hour mark to take the lead from the home side.

Former Dragons outside-half Ceri Sweeney grabbed the first when he booted a high kick into the home 22, only for full-back Martyn Thomas to slip and allow Sweeney to scoop up the ball and touch down.

Advantage

Then a fine move down the right saw Leigh Halfpenny set up replacement Gavin Evans for a run-in, which Blair converted to give his side a 20-8 advantage going into the concluding quarter.

Struggling Dragons suffered further misery when Thomas was stretchered off with a badly damaged ankle that saw him taken straight to hospital.

But there was some consolation as Arlidge kicked a penalty to put Dragons in sight of a losing bonus point before securing it with another three-pointer during injury time.