Dragons still can't get better of Cardiff

DRAGONS’ nightmare run against their fiercest rivals continued as they fell to their 19th consecutive defeat, having not beaten them since Boxing Day 2014.

- ROGER PANTING

In that decade, Cardiff haven’t really pulled up any trees but somehow Dragons always find a way to lose against them.

This was another classic case in point as Cardiff barely featured in the first 30 minutes to trail 15-0 but Dragons lost momentum enabling their opponents to climb up to third in the league table with a bonus-point victory.

Dragons assistant coach Matt O’Brien said: “It’s a difficult one to take and it’s a case of so near yet so far. Lots of things we did were good but crucially we had moments of ill-discipline in the mid third of the game.

Dragons now go into the New Year with only one win and at least four points below perennial strugglers, Zebre, so there is a grave danger of them finishing bottom.