Centre Joe Westwood ran in a first-half hat-trick as Dragons RFC finished their pre-season preparations with a deserved 33-28 win over Scarlets at a packed Rodney Parade.
A 33-man strong squad for the Men of Gwent looked to build on last weekend's encouraging away win against Hartpury.
This time in front of a packed Rodney Parade in their final pre-season match before the start of the BKT United Rugby Championship, the match day squad mixed with youth and experience as players looked to stake their claim for a starting spot against Ulster in a fortnight.
A first-half hat-trick from centre Westwood, as well as a try from skipper Angus O’Brien, ended an action-packed first half with a 26-14 lead in favour of the hosts.
The action carried into the second half following a raft of changes from boss Filo Tiatia during the half-time break, which a further try from newcomer Harry Beddall.
The visitors made an immediate impression on the scoreboard when Wales international Taine Plumtree went over from short range.
The hosts replied instantly with skipper O’Brien powering over just four minutes later.
Dragons would turn up the heat further when Westwood crossed for his first of the game with a destructive carry after some great work from the hosts’ pack to set the platform for the centre to score.
Scarlets would grab back a try with a stroke of luck from a bouncing ball collected by Ellis Mee, who crossed over.
The Men of Gwent would notch up another try after some fantastic work between their centres, with Aneurin Owen timing his pass to perfection to send Westwood through for his second.
On the stroke of half-time, Westwood secured his hat-trick after pouncing on a loose ball. He thumped it clear and, after some great offloading from Rio Dyer and Mackenzie Martin, the young centre landed his third.
Early into the second half, some upfront domination from Dragons pack was topped with a superb driving maul from the visitors' five-metre line. A monstrous shove saw debutant Beddall cross over for a try on his first start.
Second half tries from Dane Blacker and Ioan Nicholas saw the visitors eat into the lead, but the home side held out in a frantic finale to wrap up a pre-season double.
Timeline:
08m Plumtree t Costellow c 0-7
12m O’Brien t De Beer c 7-7
20m Westwood t 12-7
31m Mee t Costellow c 12-14
35m Westwood t De Beer c 19-14
39m Westwood t De Beer c 26-14
53m Beddall t De Beer c 33-14
58m Blacker t Hawkins c 33-21
73m Nicholas t Costellow c 33-28
Dragons RFC: Angus O'Brien (E. Rosser 54), Rio Dyer (J Rosser 40), Joe Westwood (Richards 54), Aneurin Owen (Ackerman 54), Huw Anderson (Cole), Tinus de Beer (Lloyd 54), Che Hope (Williams 40 (Armstrong 70)), Wyn Jones (R Jones 40), Elliot Dee (Coghlan 40 (Burrows 70)), Rob Hunt (Coleman 40 (Lewis 64)), Barny Langton-Cryer (Carter 40), Matthew Screech (Douglas 40), Shane Lewis-Hughes (Woodman 40), Harry Bedall (Funaki 58), Mackenzie Martin (Wainwright 40)
Replacements: Brodie Coghlan, Oli Burrows, Rhodri Jones, Chris Coleman, Dillon Lewis, Levi Douglas, Ben Carter, Ryan Woodman, Solomone Funaki, Aaron Wainwright, Rhodri Williams, Niall Armstrong, Jac Lloyd, Jared Rosser, Harri Ackerman, Rhys Cole, Ewan Rosser
Scarlets: Ioan Nicholas, Jac Davies, Macs Page, Joe Hawkins, Ellis Mee, Sam Costelow, Gareth Davies, Alec Hepburn, Harry Thomas, Harri O’Connor, Sam Lousi, Jake Ball, Jarrod Taylor, Josh Macleod, Taine Plumtree
Replacements: Kemsley Mathias, Isaac Young, Gabe Hawley, Jac Price, Tristan Davies, Osian Williams, Dan Davis, Dane Blacker, Archie Hughes, Gabe McDonald, Joe Roberts, Tomi Lewis, Ioan Jones,
Referee: Ben Breakspear
Attendance: 4,263 Tickets Issued
