Rhys Patchell kicked a last-gasp penalty as Cardiff Blues snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a 21-20 win over Newport Gwent Dragons.

The Dragons were always seemingly in control against their Welsh rivals and had a built a 17-6 lead midway through the second half.

But after Lewis Evans was sent to the sin bin and conceded a penalty try after hauling down a driving maul, Blues used their man advantage to get back within a whisker of the Dragons.

Tom James dotted down to bring the Blues back to within two points, but Patchell saw his conversion sail wide.

Yet he was given a second chance to win the game with a penalty from similar range, much to the frustration of the Dragons fans, and this time made no mistake.

Dorian Jones had got the ball rolling with an early drop goal. And things quickly got better for the home side when Jones fed Ashton Hewitt, who skipped inside Patchell and dived over in the corner under pressure from Alex Cuthbert.

Two penalties from Patchell at the other end reduced the arrears but on the stroke of half-time Jones, who has missed just one penalty all season, gave Dragons an 11-6 lead at the interval.

Blues’ indiscipline continued to be punished in the second half, Jones with two successful penalties either side of a missed drop goal attempt.

But momentum swung in favour of the visitors on 66 minutes when Evans went in on the side of a driving maul destined for the line.

He had a watching brief for the next 10 minutes and, by the time he returned to the pitch, his team were hanging on though a Jason Tovey penalty relieved some of the pressure.

Patchell looked to have blown the chance to earn Cardiff a second win in a row when he failed to convert Jones’ score, setup by nimble footwork from Dan Fish.

But he held his nerve when it mattered to send the travelling fans home happy.

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