THE Newport Gwent Dragons Premiership Select XV’s hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the British and Irish Cup were ended by Jersey at St Peter.

The Islanders enjoyed a 24-12 success to secure second spot in Pool Five at least and set up a winner-takes-all encounter with leaders Doncaster in round six.

The Dragons, meanwhile, will have a dead rubber against Connacht Eagles after being overpowered in their must-win fixture.

They had snatched the victory thanks to a last-gasp try when the sides met at Cross Keys’ Pandy Park in November but were unable to do the double over a side fifth in the English Championship.

To compound a disappointing afternoon, scrum-half Luc Jones suffered an ankle injury in the first half that will be assessed by the Dragons medical staff on Monday A pair of tries from driving lineouts put Jersey in command 17-6 at the break and they were 24-9 up in the opening stages of the second half after a neat cross-kick by Ross Adair found his fellow winger Tom Howe.

The Dragons showed spirit to put their hosts under pressure – captain Pierce Phillips being sent to the sin bin – but they were unable to force their way over for a try that would have given them hope, settling for a fourth Geraint Rhys Jones penalty that signalled the end of the scoring.

“We started off really brightly and had some opportunities but failed to capitalise,” said Dragons academy manager James Chapron.

“We then lost the kicking game that allowed them to get their driving game going to cause us some problems and build a lead.

“In the second half we rallied but it was the same again – we just couldn’t turn pressure into points through a combination of us not being accurate and them defending well with physicality at the ruck.

“It was a frustrating game but the boys put a hell of a shift in, as they have throughout the tournament. It’s massively disappointing to be eliminated but we’ve got to pick ourselves up for one last game in front of the television cameras so that we finish on a high.”

Dragons scorers: penalties – Geraint Rhys Jones (4)