NEWPORT Gwent Dragons will go to finals night of the Singha Premiership 7s at the Twickenham Stoop as Welsh champions after triumphing in Cardiff.

The men from Rodney Parade recovered from an opening defeat to the Scarlets to beat the Ospreys and Cardiff Blues at the Arms Park.

The 31-19 success against the hosts ensured they snatched the Welsh title on points difference from the Scarlets, who were left to lament a last-gasp loss to their west Wales rivals.

The success will be a source of great delight for coach Nick Wakley and his charges after they were controversially denied the honour in 2014 after a controversial late penalty try against the Blues.

Now they will set their sights on going one better in London after being edged out in last summer’s final by Gloucester.

The Ospreys, hopeless in 2014, opened up the tournament with a shock 33-24 win against the hosts thanks to tries by Alex Humphries, Keelan Giles (2) and Morgan Williams and Joe Gage.

The Blues grabbed a four-try bonus thanks to efforts by Harry Davies, Owen Jenkins, Ben Roach and Elis Wyn-Benham.

The Dragons were next up against the Scarlets and they trailed 14-12 at half-time.

Shaun Pearce and Luke Treharne crossed for the west Walians, the latter adding two conversions, with Dorian Jones going under the sticks for the Dragons after good work by Newport wing Elliot Frewen and Ollie Griffiths showing marvellous pace for a flanker to race over from 50 metres.

Captain Geraint Rhys Jones missed the tricky touchline conversion of the second score and the Scarlets stretched their advantage to 19-12when Aaron Warren crossed in the ninth minute.

The Dragons were level in the tit-for-tat affair when Dorian Jones juggled a pass before going under the posts for a try than his older brother Geraint Rhys converted.

However, they had to settle for a losing bonus point when Will Thomas’ last-minute score secured a 24-19 success for the Scarlets.

That left the Dragons with little margin for error in their encounter against the Ospreys but it was the young men from the Liberty Stadium who struck first when Ross Jones converted his own try.

But the Ospreys suffered two yellow cards – Reuben Williams for a high tackle and Keelan Giles for a tackle without the ball – and the Rodney Parade side inched 12-7 up at the break thanks to scores by Wales Under-20s wing Lloyd Lewis and Frewen.

The impressive Frewen stretched the advantage to 19-7 just 30 seconds after the resumption with a searing break.

Giles gave the Ospreys a sniff with a superb score that combined raw speed with great footballing skills but Lewis sealed the win – and a bonus point – when he was in support of a great break by Wales Under-18s fly-half Arwel Robson.

Dorian Jones added some further gloss with an interception try at the death to make it 31-14 and the Dragons could put their feet up for a little while knowing that another win against the Blues would secure a spot at the Stoop.

The hosts were left needing to beat the Scarlets to keep their hopes alive but it was a one-sided affair with the men from the west triumphing 26-5.

That left them on the brink of the Welsh title but they were denied by a last-gasp score by Lloyd Williams that stole the spoils 17-12.

The Dragons, therefore, still had work to do going into their final game to make it to the Stoop but knew a thumping win would not only seal qualification but the leg victory.

They made a dream start when Ebbw Vale’s Luke Crocker, who played for Wales in the European Rugby Grand Prix Series this summer, went over down the right in the second minute to make it 5-0.

They were on the brink when Frewen, star of the tournament, raced over in the fourth minute but Cardiff Blues scored with their first attack of the game when Owen Jenkins danced over just before the break.

However, Newport scrum-half Jonny Lewis scorched over to ease the nerves shortly after the resumption and his clubmate Frewen followed him over the whitewash.

Mike Hale responded for the hosts but Robson went over for the fifth try to secure the Welsh title.

Results: Cardiff Blues 24 Ospreys 33, Newport Gwent Dragons 19 Scarlets 24, Newport Gwent Dragons 31 Ospreys 14, Cardiff Blues 5 Scarlets 26, Ospreys 17 Scarlets 12, Cardiff Blues 31 Newport Gwent Dragons 19 Attendance: 3,558