Cardiff Blues 27 Newport Gwent Dragons 16: Away day misery continues in capital

The Dragons were left to rue a costly closing in an entertaining first half that saw the hosts stretch away at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.

It was to prove to be terminal to their hopes of something to toast away from Rodney Parade with the teams playing out a scoreless second half.

It’s now nine defeats away from NP19 this season and 20 on the spin in the league since the March, 2015 success in Treviso.

Such woe heaps the pressure on maintain their hot streak in Newport with the Ospreys next up on New Year’s Day if they are to entertain hopes of battling champions Connacht for eighth place, let alone reeling in the Blues.

It was a frustrating afternoon in the capital with the Dragons showing some lovely glimpses, particularly Wales hopeful Ashton Hewitt on the wing and fly-half Angus O’Brien, but unable to sustain pressure.

They got on the wrong side of fussy referee Ben Whitehouse, lacked punch with ball in hand and were hindered by a poor kicking game when attempting to clear their lines.

The fast-paced game, in the first half at least, may have been easy on the eye but the kits weren’t with punters in the ground and television viewers having to strain to see who was who.

The Dragons’ insistence on a Monmouthshire blue away kit when they have a black home jersey is baffling – at the very least they should have a white alternative.

The Dragons couldn’t have made a worse start with fly-half Steve Shingler going over for the hosts with 70 seconds on the clock then converting from the touchline.

It was a moment that two bright talent won’t remember fondly with fly-half Angus O’Brien kicking out on the full to gift prime attacking position from where an accurate attack ended with wing Asthon Hewitt falling off a tackle.

However, the Dragons settled their nerves and cut the deficit thanks to a mightily impressive scrum that earned a penalty for O’Brien to bang over only for a daft blocking penalty by full-back Tom Prydie to gift Shingler an immediate reposte.

Referee Ben Whitehouse was being kept busy and showed yellow card to home centre Rey Lee-Lo in the 19th minute when he caught O’Brien with a high tackle, an offence that incensed the home crowd and also cost three points.

The chance for the Dragons to make the most of their numerical advantage didn’t last long with lock Rynard Lanman sent to the sin bin for the way that he cleared Wales wing Alex Cuthbert out at a ruck, the whistler saying he didn’t use his arms.

While the grumbling about the game being sanitised continued, Shingler knocked over three but it was soon level-pegging again with a cracking try by the visitors.

Centre Adam Warren made a burst thanks to power and fast footwork and the ball was worked left where O’Brien, a youth footballer with Southampton, put in a peach of a grubber on the 22 for Hewitt to cross.

The conversion was added and it was 13-13 after 25 minutes but the hosts’ seven-point buffer was soon restored, albeit with a hint of controversy.

The Blues, after yet another infuriating kick out on the full, this time by scrum-half Tavis Knoyle, piled the pressure on in the 22 and opted against adding three with the boot from a series of penalties.

From a quick tap Nick Williams appeared to knock on but Mr Whitehouse pulled play back and from the resulting scrum back rowers Williams and Josh Navidi carried before hooker Kristian Dacey wriggled over.

It got worse with the final play of the half when Shingler, who was having a strong game, exposed a gap that was far too big between number eight Ed Jackson and tighthead Lloyd Fairbrother before putting Navidi under the sticks for a seven-pointer.

At 27-16 down the Dragons needed a big second half and a fast start after their sluggish opening at 2.05pm.

They got that tahnks to another sensational break by Hewitt – his defensive shocker apart, the 22-year-old must have impressed Rob Howley with the Six Nations on the horizon – but were unable to force their way over to get back within touching distance.

The Dragons, with O’Brien also prominent, were having their moments but were getting little joy out of Mr Whitehouse.

It remained 27-16 heading into the final quarter with the electronic scoreboard operator staying inactive when full-back Matthew Morgan shanked a simple three-pointer while Shingler was shaken from a late hit by flanker Nick Crosswell.

Time ticked away at the Dragons and there was an inevitability that the away wait in the Pro12 would stretch to Cork in February at the earliest when a bout of sustained pressure from lineouts failed to yield any points with 72 minutes gone.

There were still bonus points to play for in the final stages but a searing break by replacement Dragons centre Sam Beard into the 22 failed to lead to try number two and they were left to lament another pointless away game in the Pro12.

Cardiff Blues: M Morgan, A Cuthbert, R Lee-Lo, W Halaholo, C Allen, S Shingler (N Robinson 67), L Williams (T Williams 67), R Gill (B Thyer 67), K Dacey (K Myhill 77), S Andrews (T Filise ), M Cook (J Hoeata 63), J Down, J Navidi, S Warburton (captain), N Williams (E Jenkins 60).

Scorers: tries – S Shingler, K Dacey, J Navidi; conversions – S Shingler (3); penalties – S Shingler (2)

Yellow card: R Lee-Lo

Newport Gwent Dragons: T Prydie (C Meyer 47), P Howard, T Morgan, A Warren (S Beard 65), A Hewitt, A O’Brien, T Knoyle (S Pretorius 59), S Hobbs (T Davies ), R Thomas (E Dee 53), L Fairbrother (B Harris 53), C Hill (M Screech 59), R Landman, L Evans (captain), O Griffiths, E Jackson (N Crosswell 53).

Scorers: try – A Hewitt ; conversions – A O’Brien ; penalties – A O’Brien (3)

Yellow cards: R Landman

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Attendance: 11,654

Argus star man: Ashton Hewitt