Tries in either half from Kevin Morgan and Colin Charvis saw the Newport Gwent Dragons book their place in next season’s Heineken Cup with a battling 18-10 triumph over the Ospreys at Rodney Parade. It was first win for the Dragons since January 4 and it means now that all four Welsh regions have qualified for European rugby’s premier tournament for the 2008/09 season. Paul Turner’s men prevailed in a tense encounter with an Ospreys side that was missing 17 squad regulars due to a combination of to injury and Wales’ week-long training camp in Ireland. The hosts got good news in the lead-up to the game with the confirmation that there would be no Heineken Cup qualification play-off against Italian opposition on May 31. Both the Dragons and Connacht were scrapping for a place in that play-off but with the Italian Federation unable to nominate a team for that game as their championship will not reach its conclusion in time, this win had Turner’s side automatically through. Ospreys boss Lyn Jones named a youthful starting line-up, save for the experienced Mark Taylor and Shaun Connor, with the latter having agreed to join the Dragons next season. With Rhys Thomas and Andy Williams away with the Welsh squad, the Dragons were missing some key personnel but captain Colin Charvis, Luke Charteris, Rhodri Gomer Davies and Kevin Morgan did return to bolster their ranks. The game was only five minutes’ old when nippy full-back Morgan charged up into the attacking line and with the Ospreys defenders standing off, the 31-year-old wormed his way over in the right corner for a fine try. Ceri Sweeney missed the conversion but he traded penalty goals with Ospreys fly-half Connor as the Dragons ended the first quarter with an 8-3 advantage. They soon had a numerical advantage on the pitch as Ospreys centre Jonathan Spratt was sin-binned for killing the ball and Sweeney landed the resulting penalty. However, while they looked dangerous out wide when Spratt was sidelined, the Dragons just could not force their way over for a second try. The Ospreys, who were hoping to bounce back from last Friday’s home defeat to Edinburgh, then came back into the game before the break. The Dragons failed to capitalise again while the visitors’ scrum half Rhys Webb saw yellow for a high tackle on Richard Fussell. In fact, Jones’ side showed them how it is done when tricky full-back Gareth Owen went on a mesmerising run, beating seven players as he sliced through the Dragons’ defence. Keeping the move going, the youngster then passed inside for Connor to touch down against his future club. The number 10 converted his own try to leave the Ospreys very much in the game at 11-10 down at half-time. With their tails up, the Ospreys pressed and probed during the third quarter and looked the more likely to score – Connor almost did so with a drop goal attempt. But Charvis, the 35-year-old back rower, played a real captain’s role as he picked off what was the match-clinching try for the Dragons. Centre Phil Dollman sent a low pass out to Charvis who stooped brilliantly to collect it and the veteran make his way over the whitewash for a crucial 58th-minute score. Sweeney’s conversion left eight points between the sides and despite the best efforts of Connor, who was denied by a last-ditch tackle by Morgan, the Dragons held on for only their second win in their last seven meetings with their Welsh rivals.
