Warriors slayed by Dragons

Newport Gwent Dragons turned on the style to beat Glasgow 30-19 in the Magners League on Friday, claiming a bonus point in the process.

Both sides came into the game in decent form, Glasgow having had two wins from their two opening fixtures, while the Dragons scored three tries against Ulster to go top of the table in the first week before going down fighting in Dublin to European champions Leinster last time out.

It was the Dragons that made the faster start though when New Zealand outside-half James Arlidge capitalised on a wayward midfield pass from the Warriors to run from halfway to the posts and then convert.

The Dragons were in rampant mood and soon doubled their lead when centres Tom Riley and skipper Smith combined beautifully to send full-back James Tovey flying under the posts.

And it was to go from bad to worse for the Warriors as Wales winger Aled Brew went roaring in at the corner for the third.

Arlidge booted one of those two conversions and, with the Warriors relying on outside-half Dan Parks for two penalties - one from 55 metres - for their points, it was an uphill struggle for the Scotsmen at 19-6 in arrears.

Bonus

Winger Colin Shaw hit back for Glasgow though, breaching the home defence and scoring at the posts to set up a simple Parks conversion.

Tovey and Parks swapped penalties before half-time with the game still in the balance at 22-16 and Parks' fourth penalty pulled Glasgow back to just three points behind after the break.

The Dragons' impressive back division came alive again after Tovey took them six points clear with another penalty.

A neat grubber kick to the right corner put the ball over the Glasgow line for Smith to touch down and give the Dragons a four-try bonus point.

The life seemed to go out of the match around the hour mark as Glasgow used up all their seven replacements but the Scottish side could not find a way through the home defence despite some tireless play from the pack.

Unforced mistakes frustrated the visitors when in decent positions around the home 22 and, with the teams meeting again in the Heineken Cup in October, the Dragons' victory laid a significant marker for that contest.