NEWPORT Gwent Dragons enjoyed another game to remember at Rodney Parade after a 27-19 victory against Edinburgh in the Guinness Pro12.

First half tries by full-back Carl Meyer, prop Sam Hobbs and fly-half Angus O’Brien ensured Kingsley Jones’ men made it four victories on the spin in Newport after successes against Brive, Connacht and the Scarlets.

The four hard-earned points lifted them to ninth in the table, above their Scottish guests, level on points with champions Connacht and seven behind Cardiff Blues.

The Dragons have got their swagger back at Rodney Parade and once again it was a success based on some enterprising rugby and tenacity in defence to withstand late Scottish pressure.

The beautifully-balanced back row of Lewis Evans, Ed Jackson and outstanding openside Ollie Griffiths shone brightly while O’Brien had another good game pulling the strings.

The Dragons have built momentum on home soil and now the challenge is to pick up their performances away from NP19, starting in Dublin on Saturday.

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Edinburgh started strongly and deservedly went in front in the 10th minute when wing Mike Allen burst into the 22 and, after carries by prop Murray McCallum and scrum-half Sean Kennedy, the ball was worked right for number eight Nasi Manu to cross.

Former Dragon Jason Tovey superbly converted before his successor Angus O’Brien responded with a penalty after he was clumsily taken out late by flanker Magnus Bradbury, fresh from making his Scotland debut against Argentina.

The visitors were looking sharp despite two weeks of inactivity with Tovey pulling the strings but had a narrow escape when O’Brien was wide with a long-range effort from the tee, debutant referee and former Leicester, Munster and Connacht scrum-half Frank Murphy enraging the Edinburgh coaching team when punishing a deliberate slap down from an offside position.

However, the Dragons soon struck thanks to a mixture of savviness and clinical finishing.

They stood off an Edinburgh lineout drive and Rhys Thomas came around the back to pinch the ball, which was then spread right by back row forwards Evans and Griffiths for full-back Meyer to burst through midfield and dash under the sticks.

O’Brien added the extras and repeated the trick in the 24th minute after a patient and intense attack by the Dragons, who hammered away with one-out running before loosehead Hobbs muscled over.

At 17-7 the hosts were in a good position but Edinburgh responded with a second cracking score with centre Chris Dean finishing powerfully after an inventive attack.

It was thrilling stuff and the Dragons swiftly responded to make it 24-12 before half an hour had been played when O’Brien dashed through and combined with former Edinburgh centre Sam Beard, Mr Murphy awarding the try after checking on the big screen that the fly-half wasn’t in front of a grubber through.

The Dragons were playing some dashing rugby while Edinburgh were also more than playing their part, showing a much more adventurous approach that they had under previous coach Alan Solomons.

There was plenty of intent, and some half-chances, but no more scoring before the break.

The second half began in a frustratingly stop-start fashion with injury breaks and a maddening and lengthy stoppage while the touch judge’s’ radio was fixed.

Neither side was able to break the deadlock after turning the ball over in the 22 and it remained a 12-point game approaching the hour; the next score would be crucial.

The Dragons needed to keep their cool when in enemy territory to leave Edinburgh needing three scores but they were made to pay for lacking composure when the visitors’ giant Fijian replacement Viliame Mata smashed over, Scotland fly-half Duncan Weir making it 24-19 with 15 minutes left.

Olympic gold medallist Mata had added plenty of energy off the bench and the Scots had the momentum at a nervy Parade.

There were counter-attacks at both ends, Tyler Morgan breaking free from turnover ball for the Dragons only for his pass to find a red jersey before a wonderful claim of a high ball by Damian Hoyland for Edinburgh, the wing denied by Sarel Pretorius’ fine cover tackle.

The clock was ticking a little too slowly for the hosts, who were hindered by a faltering lineout, but the win was sealed in the 79th minute with an O’Brien penalty.

Dragons: C Meyer, P Howard, S Beard, J Dixon (T Morgan 52), A Hewitt, A O'Brien, T Knoyle (S Pretorius 52), S Hobbs (P Price 50), R Thomas (R Buckley 40), B Harris (L Fairbrother 65), N Crosswell, M Screech (J Thomas 41), L Evans (captain), O Griffiths (N Cudd 61), E Jackson (N Cudd 20-26).

Scorers: tries – C Meyer, S Hobbs, A O’Brien; conversions – A O’Brien (3); penalties – A O’Brien (2)

Edinburgh: B Kinghorn, D Hoyland, C Dean, P Burleigh, M Allen (G Bryce 50), J Tovey (D Weir 52), S Kennedy (S Hidalgo-Clyne 52), J Cosgrove, N Cochrane (captain, S McInally 40), M McCallum, F McKenzie (L Carmichael 75), B Toolis, M Bradbury, J Ritchie, N Manu (V Mata 52).

Scorers: tries – N Manu, C Dean, V Mata; conversions – J Tovey, D Weir

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)

Attendance: 4,064

Argus star man: Ollie Griffiths