NEWPORT Gwent Dragons were tenacious, resilient and gutsy in Galway but it wasn’t enough to prevent yet another Guinness PRO12 defeat on the road.

Kingsley Jones’ side rolled up their sleeves to at least leave Connacht with a consolation bonus point but it was another case of one that got away after being edged out 14-9.

They had their chances to steal the spoils after rallying for a strong second half at a sold-out Sportsground but their lack of a cutting edge in the champions’ 22 meant the wait for a league win away from Rodney Parade will stretch to two years.

It was also a defeat that damages their hopes of a ‘mini league’ battle in the PRO12. In January the Dragons were aiming to be in a tussle with Edinburgh and the men from Galway for eighth place, as well as potentially reeling in Cardiff Blues.

However, the loss at the Sportsground leaves them with too much ground to make up on eighth-placed Connacht while their Welsh rivals from the capital are 14 ahead after thumping Treviso.

Unless there is a remarkable turnaround all that's left for the Dragons is a duel with Edinburgh to avoid being the side nearest the Italians.

They also need to get the monkey off their back away from Rodney Parade ahead of next season. Something they can do, certainly at Zebre and Edinburgh, if they repeat tonight's tenacity.

It's now 22 defeats on the spin in fixtures away from Newport in the PRO12 and they were unable to stop a Connacht side who played with ambition, pace and enterprise from the off.

Their approach meant that flankers Cudd and Griffiths had to be at their fire-fighting best and thankfully, just like against Munster in Cork eight days earlier, their determination in defence shone brightly.

Number 6 and 7 were inspirational at times and their teammates joined in after the break to go toe-to-toe with a Connacht side chasing Champions Cup qualification.

Sadly the Dragons were unable to conjure one moment of magic to get their noses in front and had to settle for their solitary bonus to draw level with Edinburgh.

It was an incredible start to the game with 4 minutes and 20 seconds of action from the kick-off with both sides getting their hands on the ball.

Dragons backs coach Shaun Connor had warned that the champions like to pass more than any team in the league and it was one glorious wide ball by Jack Carty that provided the opener with wing Matt Healy sent racing down the left before putting full-back Tiernan O’Halloran, released from Ireland’s Six Nations squad, over.

The conversion was added by Craig Ronaldson but the visitors gathered themselves and spent the next eight minutes in enemy territory.

However, it was Connacht that struck next after soaking up the pressure and then breaking away through wing Niyi Adeolokun. The speedster was stopped but a couple of phases later scrum-half Caolin Blade strolled over after exploiting a lack of Dragons defenders down the right.

Ronaldson converted before Angus O’Brien, on for fly-half Dorian Jones, settled the visitors’ nerves with a penalty.

Plenty of half-chances were coming the way of Jones’ side but nobody was able to conjure a magic moment to boost spirits and get back within sight.

Connacht were playing some breath-taking rugby, going coast to coast, offloading and chancing their arm at serious pace.

The Dragons had a lucky escape when flanker Sean O’Brien knocked on in the 22 at the end of one such attack and another when centre Ronaldson intercepted Angus O’Brien only for a combination of the fly-half and openside Cudd.

The flankers were having fine games in defence and they needed to with the region ending the half on the ropes.

They were glad to get back to the changing room just 14-3 down and desperately needed a rapid start to the second half.

That’s what they got with O’Brien adding his second penalty after his chip over the top had led to confusion in the home ranks and an offside.

The Dragons had weathered a storm at the end of the first half and, once again like Cork, were much improved after the resumption and their fly-half made it 14-9 after more super work by Cudd.

The flankers were inspirational while Wales lock Cory Hill, off the bench on his return from Six Nations duty, was making his presence known along with second row partner Nick Crosswell.

The game was in the balance approaching the hour and the Dragons were agonisingly close to pulling level when their locks combined, Crosswell disrupting a Connacht lineout in the 22 and Hill going on the charge.

The ball was spread left where centre Tyler Morgan was also inches short, a golden chance gone begging that was made all the more frustrating when the Dragons were shoved off their own five-metre scrum minutes later.

However, the visitors were defending ferociously to stay in the game and it remained in the balance with quarter of an hour left.

The Dragons enjoyed another bout of pressure in the 22 but were unable to force their way over and it looked like it was going to be a familiar frustrating evening of close but no cigar.

It looked like they were going to lose their bonus point when replacement scrum-half John Cooney raced over from a chip through but he was ahead of the kicker and instead the visitors had one last chance to try and steal the spoils.

Alas, the lineout was disrupted and the search for that elusive away win continues to Glasgow after Friday’s home game with Leinster.

Connacht: T O’Halloran, N Adeolokun, T Farrell, C Ronaldson (R Parata 76), M Healy, J Carty, C Blade (J Cooney 56), D Buckley (R Loughney 77), D Heffernan (T McCartney 56), F Bealham (JP Cooney 77), U Dillane (N Fox-Matamua 62), Q Roux (J Cannon 69), S O’Brien, J Heenan, J Muldoon (captain).

Scorers: tries – T O’Halloran, C Blade; conversions – C Ronaldson (2)

Dragons: T Prydie, A Hughes, T Morgan, A Warren (S Beard 67), P Howard, D Jones (A O’Brien 14), T Knoyle (S Pretorius 76), S Hobbs (T Davies 60), E Dee (D Harris ), B Harris (L Fairbrother 60), N Crosswell, R Landman (C Hill 40), O Griffiths (H Keddie 76), N Cudd, L Evans (captain).

Scorers: penalties – A O’Brien (3)

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Attendance: 6,190

Argus star men: Nic Cudd and Ollie Griffiths