Nic Cudd’s first-half try helped Newport Gwent Dragons edge past Benetton Treviso 19-12 in a war of attrition underneath the Friday night lights at Rodney Parade.

Cudd barrelled over following a driving maul for the only try of the game as fly-half Jason Tovey added 14 points to secure the Dragons a second GUINNESS PRO12 win of the campaign.

Jayden Hayward booted all 12 points for Treviso as they picked up a fourth losing bonus point of the young season but suffered a 12th consecutive GUINNESS PRO12 defeat.

The Dragons had won their previous five games at Rodney Parade and got off to a perfect start as Tovey slotted a penalty with just two minutes gone.

In response the Italians began to put together some nice phases which resulted in Hayward levelling matters from the tee on 12 minutes.

But midway through the first half the hosts were rewarded for a well-constructed driving maul as flanker Cudd crashed over – Tovey adding the extras.

The fly-half then increased his personal tally to eight points with a second penalty as Treviso, who have not won a GUINNESS PRO12 fixture outside of Italy since May 2013, struggled to stay in touch.

A routine Hayward three-pointer did bring them back within a score and despite Dragons speedster Ashton Hewitt looking a constant danger with ball in hand, too many infringements in the Italians’ 22 ensured the score remained 13-6 at the break.

The Men from Gwent’s ill-discipline continued to hurt them after the interval as Hayward nailed his third penalty and although Tovey responded with one of his own shortly after, the Treviso full-back went four from four from the tee on 47 minutes.

The penalty battle continued as the second half progressed, Tovey slotting his fourth, but Treviso were handed a lifeline when replacement prop Rhys Buckley was yellow-carded with 19 minutes remaining.

Hayward’s 100 per cent record from the tee fell to the wayside as he missed the resultant penalty and despite their man disadvantage, the Dragons continued to pile forward, stringing together a number of phases in the Italians’ territory.

Cudd continued his impressive performance with a pivotal turnover at the breakdown and the Dragons thought they had put the game to bed, only for the referee to disallow a try a few minutes from time by bringing it back for a line-out.

But the Welshmen held on in relative comfort and will head into next weekend’s Welsh derby against Scarlets with renewed confidence.

To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.