NEWPORT Gwent Dragons suffered more late Irish anguish after running out of steam against Connacht at Rodney Parade.

Six days after being downed by Ulster, who went top of the Guinness Pro12 thanks to a last-gasp win in Belfast, it was the turn of the men from Galway to take it late on and become league pace-setters.

The Dragons led by seven points entering the final quarter only to be hit by a pair of tries as Connacht exploited weary legs.

It was another tenacious display with a number of strong performers but their stretched squad just fell short despite their admirable determination and application.

At the heart of the effort was hooker Elliot Dee, who put in a remarkable performance given that before the game there was a minute’s silence for his mother Lynn, who passed away last weekend.

Mrs Dee was extremely proud of her boy, so much so that a notification message would swiftly follow whenever I Tweeted praise of the 21-year-old from Newbridge.

The retweet or like would be there from Lynn – and she definitely would have been hitting the button after his Connacht display.

Dee, incredibly in the circumstances, produced a performance that gives ammunition to those of us who believe he should currently be in Wales’ Six Nations squad.

He hit his first lineout to settle and then he set about putting himself about with his usual gusto, carrying with commitment, tackling hard, mixing it at the breakdown and even providing a well-judged assist.

On Sunday Elliot posted on social media that he would strive to keep making her proud: mission accomplished.

The Dragons headed into the game with an awful recent record against Connacht, who were searching for a third season double on the spin against their hosts.

Lyn Jones’ side were, however, buoyed by formidable Rodney Parade form this term of eight wins from 10 and a spirited display against Ulster six days earlier.

That last-gasp 17-15 defeat did mean that they went into the game with bruised bodies courtesy of a self-inflicted rapid turnaround (a non-televised Thursday fixture was chosen to give the pitch a breather before County-Carlisle on Saturday while a Sunday encounter would have stretched them for next Friday’s away game at Treviso).

However, a light week at their Ystrad Mynach training base paid dividends with a rapid start.

They made three visits to the 22 inside the opening 10 minutes and in truth they should have enjoyed a bigger advantage that Jason Tovey’s penalty; a forward pass, a rip from lock Matthew Screech and then desperate defence of charges by prop Phil Price and flanker Ben White frustrating them on the line.

The frustration at missed chances intensified when Connacht took their first one, wing Matt Healy racing under the sticks from a neat inside pass for an all-too-easy try that Craig Ronaldson converted.

Thankfully the Dragons struck straight back with a gift of a try when centre Adam Hughes charged down a clearance and showed good composure and footwork to score.

Full-back Geraint Rhys Jones, a late call-up because of Carl Meyer’s calf injury, was wide with the conversion while the injured Tovey was being replaced by Angus O’Brien.

And the see-saw game continued when Connacht reaped the rewards of going for the corner from a penalty; the drive may have been stopped by full-back Tiernan O’Halloran went over with ease when the ball was spun left.

Ronaldson’s majestic conversion made it 14-8 to the visitors after 22 minutes… only for the Dragons to respond brilliantly in a manic first half.

Playing with penalty advantage, the pack showed great handling skills in enemy territory before hooker Dee’s well-judged pass put wing Ashton Hewitt racing over for a try that O’Brien converted.

The lead had changed hands four times in an entertaining affair in which both sides were determined to make the most of the dry conditions; hands were being used rather than the boot.

It became 18-14 to the Dragons in the opening exchanges of the second half when O’Brien banged over a penalty after a no-arms tackle by prop Rodney Ah You, referee David Wilkinson making the right call in not showing yellow but having to operate without a TMO, a farce that shows the Pro12 lags behind the Aviva Premiership.

Another penalty, from a scrum, saw the replacement fly-half make it 21-14 approaching the hour and the Dragons would have to dig deep after their Ulster exertions.

That was even more the case after 68 minutes when Connacht closed to within two points thanks to a driving lineout score by number eight Eoghan Masterson.

To the Dragons’ credit at least they learnt their lesson from Belfast by not conceding a penalty try in desperation, which kept 15 on the field and ensured a tricky, and failed, conversion.

Alas, the visitors had their tails up and after another driving lineout went close the ball was put wide for powerhouse centre Bundee Aki to cross for try that Ronaldson converted.

Suddenly the Dragons were playing catch up with eight minutes to turn around a 26-21 deficit.

They laid siege to the Connacht line as Mr Wilkinson played injury time but the visitors defended impressively to move to the head of the table.

Dragons: GR Jones, A Hewitt, A Hughes, A Warren, N Scott, J Tovey (A O’Brien 18), S Pretorius (C Davies 72), P Price (L Garrett 64), E Dee, B Harris (S Knight 64), M Screech (C Hill 69), R Landman, B White (J Benjamin 78), N Cudd, N Crosswell.

Scorers: tries – A Hughes, A Hewitt; conversions – A O’Brien; penalties – J Tovey, A O’Brien (2)

Connacht: T O’Halloran, D Poolman (R Parata 66), B Aki, C Ronaldson, M Healy, AJ MacGinty (P Robb 80), C Blade (K Marmion 45), D Buckley, T McCartney, R Ah You (F Bealham 45), G Naoupu (U Dillane 55), A Muldowney, J Muldoon (captain), J Heenan (E McKeon 65), E Masterson.

Scorers: tries – M Healy, T O’Halloran, E Masterson, B Aki; conversions – C Ronaldson (3)

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

Attendance: 4,128

Argus star man: Elliot Dee