Dragons agonisingly slipped to defeat in the EPCR Challenge Cup opener against Montpellier in atrocious conditions in Newport.
Dragons played into the driving wind in the first half as Montpellier dominated the opening quarter. Fly-half Aurelien Barreau kicked two penalties before wing Madosh Tambwe and number eight Marco Tauleigne produced fine finishes to establish an 18-point lead.
Dragons regrouped and responded with Wales flanker Taine Basham scoring on his 100th appearance before a well-worked try for full-back Angus O'Brien, with the captain also slotting over two excellent conversions into the wind.
In a scoreless second-half, the hosts were unable to take advantage of the wind with replacement prop Aki Seiuli held up over the Montpellier line before a final flourish of pressure and a lengthy television match official (TMO) review came to nothing.
