The Dragons cruised to a 28-5 victory over Scarlets in a United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Rodney Parade, climbing to 10th in the table and extending their strong home form this season.

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De Beer Leads the Charge

Fly-half Tinus de Beer opened the scoring in the eighth minute after a driving line-out and clever interplay with centre Aneurin Owen, running a hard line to score under the posts. Full-back Angus O’Brien added the conversion to give Dragons a 7-0 lead.

Scarlets responded in the 35th minute when wing Ellis Mee crossed following a driving line-out finished by hooker Marnus van der Merwe, but Joe Hawkins missed the conversion, leaving the half-time score 7-5.

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Scarlets’ Red Card Spurs Dragons

Early in the second half, Scarlets lock Max Douglas was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card, leaving the visitors down to 14. Dragons capitalized immediately:

• Oli Burrows scored from a line-out maul, converted by O’Brien (14-5).
• David Richards extended the lead in the 48th minute, finishing off a short pass from scrum-half Che Hope.
• Replacement hooker George Roberts, signed from Doncaster to cover injuries, secured the four-try bonus-point in the 75th minute.

Scarlets struggled to recover after the red card and were unable to threaten the Dragons’ defense for the remainder of the game.

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Key Performers and Team News

Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia praised his side’s performance, saying:
“We are happy with the outcome. The first half was touch and go, but we improved in key areas after the Cardiff defeat. The team showed focus and clinical finishing in the second half.”

Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel acknowledged his side’s struggles, adding:
“It’s been a disappointing two weeks with derby losses. We had the talent on the field, but we didn’t perform to our standards. Injuries played a part, but there are no excuses.”

Dragons Starting XV: O’Brien (co-capt), D. Richards, Inisi, Owen, E. Rosser; de Beer, Hope; Martinez, Burrows, Hunt, Woodman, Carter (co-capt), Keddie, Beddall, Wainwright.
Replacements: G. Roberts, W. Jones, Dlamini, Douglas, Young, R. Williams, Westwood, Anderson.

Scarlets Starting XV: Nicholas; Rogers, Roberts, James, Mee; Hawkins, G. Davies; Mathias, van der Merwe, H. Thomas, Douglas, Cuckson, Plumtree, Macleod (capt), Anderson.
Replacements: Elias, J. Morse, H. O’Connor, J. Price, D. Davis, A. Hughes, Leggatt-Jones, Page.

Yellow card: Cuckson 24’
Red card: Douglas 43’

Referee: Ben Connor (WRU)
Attendance: 8,369

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Context and URC Implications

The Dragons continue a strong run at Rodney Parade, with three consecutive home wins following victories over Lyon and Connacht before Christmas. Their next URC match sees them travel to face Benetton, with hopes of earning a Challenge Cup last-16 tie.

Scarlets, meanwhile, sit bottom of the URC table after festive losses to Ospreys and Dragons and must regroup ahead of Champions Cup fixtures, including a home clash with Pau and a trip to Northampton.