The Dragons went down 28-45 against Bristol Bears in a lively pre-season friendly at Rodney Parade.
A high-scoring affair saw the visitors run away with it late in the second half after trailing 21-19 at the break.
The home side were forced into a late change just before the match, with back row Ross Moriarty pulling out of the matchday squad, with his partner about to give birth.
READ MORE: Ross Moriarty pulls out of Dragons v Bristol Bears match with partner due to give birth
The Wales star was originally named on the bench with the game pencilled in as his comeback-from-injury date. That will now have to wait. He was replaced by Ben Moa who took his place among the replacements.
And it was a clinical start from the away team; fly-half Callum Sheedy kicked for the corner in the third minute and a powerful five-metre drive saw hooker Bryan Byrne crash over the whitewash. Sheedy converted.
But the hosts hit back soon after, with Angus O'Brien racing underneath the posts after good work from JJ Hanrahan. The creator added the extras.
John Hawkins was then sent to the bin for a 10-minute rest for going off his feet before the Dragons took the lead for the first time on the night. Ollie Griffiths powered over and Hanrahan once again converted.
Sean Lonsdale was the next to get in on the action, with the former Exeter Chiefs man breaking through Bristol's defence to touch down. Hanrahan slotted from wide left to convert.
The visitors were the next on the scoresheet, with Joe Jenkins stepping his man to cross the line. Sheedy did the honours, with the scores close at 21-19 at the turnaround.
It was the home side who came out of the blocks quickest in the second period. Bradley Roberts crowned his first appearance with a try and Hanrahan extended the hosts' lead.
Wales international Ioan Lloyd was introduced to the fray just before the hour mark and he made an immediate impact, and Bristol were next to add to their points tally. A catch and drive from five metres out saw Will Capon crash over to reduce the deficit and make it a four-point game with 20 minutes left on the clock.
A lively encounter showed no sign of tailing off with both teams going at it and with six minutes left Harry Randall sniped in on the blindside to snatch the lead. And a brace of tries from Henry Purdy in the final throes of the game gave the scoreline a bit more of a shine.
Dragons: 15. Angus O’Brien, 14 Rio Dyer, 13 Sio Tomkinson, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Rhodri Williams; 1 Rhodri Jones, 2 Bradley Roberts, 3 Chris Coleman, 4 Huw Taylor, 5 Sean Lonsdale, 6 Harri Keddie (c), 7 Lennon Greggains, 8 Ollie Griffiths
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 George Nott, 20 Ben Moa, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Will Reed, 23 Max Clark, 24 Jordan Williams, 25 Josh Reynolds, 26 James Benjamin, 27 David Richards
Bristol Bears : 15. Luke Morahan, 14. Jack Bates, 13. Joe Jenkins, 12. James Williams, 11. Rich Lane, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Tom Whiteley; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Bryan Byrne, 3. Jonathan Benz-Salomon, 4. Morgan Eames, 5. Joe Owen, 6. John Hawkins, 7. Jake Heenan (c), 8. Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: Jake Kerr, Will Capon, Yann Thomas, George Kloska, Max Lahiff, Ed Holmes, Dan Thomas, Sam Lewis, Harry Randall, Andy Uren, AJ MacGinty, Henry Purdy, Ioan Lloyd.
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