NEWPORT Gwent Dragons failed to take advantage of Glasgow’s lengthy list of absentees after being downed 29-15 by the Guinness Pro12 champions at Scotstoun Stadium.

The men from Rodney Parade produced their most cohesive attacking display of the season yet didn’t even have the consolation of a bonus point thanks to a Glasgow try at the death.

It leaves them with a solitary victory and just five points to their name this season and leaves them under pressure to take the spoils when Treviso visit Rodney Parade next Friday if they are to harbour hopes of at least challenging for Champions Cup qualification.

After a woeful display in defeat to Leinster in Dublin it was at least a much more joined-up attacking performance from the Dragons, even if it wasn’t all singing, all dancing.

They posed more questions by displaying better ball retention with lots of direct, one-out running.

But they lost the key moments and failed to make two spells with a man advantage count against the depleted but keen Warriors.

Glasgow were missing their 17-strong Scotland contingent but were able to hand a first start to giant wing Taqele Naiyaravoro, who missed out on the Australia squad, while USA lock Greg Peterson and superb Italy flanker Simone Favaro made their debuts off the bench.

The Dragons started brightly but were soon put on the back foot by Glasgow with Naiyaravoro prominent in their attack while the visitors were choosing fan out rather than over-competing at the breakdown.

The Warriors got the lead they deserved in the 13th minute through the right boot of fly-half Rory Clegg, after Dragons full-back Carl Meyer failed to find touch with a clearance, and then opposite number Jason Tovey missed his first kick of the season when he shanked a potential leveller.

The kicking out hand wan’t much better with both sides guilty of plenty of aimless thwacks downfield but a peach of a touch-finder by Tovey from a penalty on halfway put the visitors in position to take the lead in the 25th minute.

The lineout had faltered up to that point but hooker Elliot Dee, on his first start for nine months after shoulder surgery, first hit Lewis Evans and then, after the first maul was dragged down, Rynard Landman.

Penalty advantage was being played by Irish ref Gary Conway so scrum-half Sarel Pretorius sniped away before offloading for fellow South African Landman to crash over for a score that Tovey improved.

A 7-3 lead should have been made 7-6 only for Clegg to miss a sitter from 30 metres out and Glasgow grew frustrated, seemingly with a simple gameplan of ‘give it to Naiyaravoro’.

That reaped dividends when the big man got them to within yards of the line following a break by centre Fraser Lyle, forcing the Dragons, who had lost Landman to injury, to go offside.

The penalty was kicked to the corner and flanker Chris Fusaro peeled off for a score that Clegg converted.

However, it was level-pegging at the break – and the Dragons would start the second half with a man advantage.

A patient attack earned a penalty and Tovey, playing with advantage, chipped to the corner where wing Aled Brew was tackled in the air by Naiyaravoro, who was yellow-carded.

A penalty try must have been considered but the Dragons had to settle for three points from the left peg of their fly-half.

They had to do what Wales failed to do last week at Twickenham and make their numerical advantage count but instead it was excellent defence that kept them on level terms after Pretorius kicked dead from the restart.

First replacement lock Matthew Screech stole lineout ball five metres out and a minute later Dee won a holding-on penalty at the breakdown under his sticks but the sin bin period was only won 3-0.

And the hosts led 17-10 approaching the hour when the Dragons were their own worst enemy, first Brew booting the ball out on the full and then failing to scramble from turnover ball inside their 22 with scrum-half Mike Blair eventually putting prop Zander Fagerson over the whitewash after Naiyaravoro went close (again).

The Dragons had to absorb some more pressure inside their 22 – Blair’s experience helping give the Warriors some direction – and then went on the attack themselves in the final quarter.

Italy flanker Simone Favaro was sin-binned and the visitors went for the corner only for their driving lineout to be stopped a metre short and for flanker Nic Cudd to spill the ball in contact.

They were made to pay for missing that chance with 10 minutes left when Blair’s delicate box kick bounced kindly for Junior Bulumakau, who hacked on and won the race to the ball to make it 22-10.

Game over? Not quite.

Back game the Dragons and, after a strong carry by replacement hooker Rhys Buckley, wing Ashton Hewitt was put over by Tovey, who then frustratingly struck the left upright with the conversion.

The Dragons had five minutes to salvage a draw with replacements Ollie Griffiths and Luc Jones adding real energy.

But instead it was the Warriors who struck, Favaro powering over from a driving lineout to claim a bonus for the hosts while denying the visitors a consolation.

Glasgow: R Hughes, T Naiyaravoro, A Dunbar (J Bulumakau 60), F Lyle, L Jones, R Clegg, G Hart (M Blair 50), A Allan (J Yanuyanutawa 64), P MacArthur (F Scott 3), Z Fagerson (M Cusack 64), R Harley (captain), S Cummings, H Blake, C Fusaro (S Favaro 50), A Ashe.

Scorers: tries – C Fusaro, Z Fagerson, J Bulumakau, S Favaro; conversions – R Clegg (3); penalty – R Clegg Dragons: C Meyer, A Hewitt, R Wardle (C Davies 75), A Warren, A Brew (N Scott 55), J Tovey, S Pretorius (L Jones 70), B Stankovich (P Price 60), E Dee (R Buckley 71), B Harris (S Knight 68), N Crosswell, R Landman (captain, M Screech 30), L Evans, N Cudd, E Jackson (O Griffiths 70).

Scorers: tries – R Landman, A Hewitt; conversion – J Tovey; penalty – J Tovey Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland) Attendance: 6,641 Argus star man: Elliot Dee