Christmas may be done and dusted for another year, but the second instalment of three weeks of Guinness PRO14 derby action gets underway on Boxing Day, ensuring the festivities will continue.

In Wales, Cardiff Blues hosts arch-rivals Dragons for their first meeting of the campaign, with both sides buoyant on the back of Round 8 wins against Ospreys and Scarlets respectively.

It’s been a while since a clash between the two regions has had as much riding on it - with the Dragons much improved under Dean Ryan this year and the Blues chasing the Guinness PRO14 Final Series - but there have been some almighty clashes between the pair historically.

Here, we take a look at some of the most prominent, headline-making encounters the two teams have shared in years gone by.

Blues battle back

The first PRO14 Welsh derby of the ²⁰¹⁷⁄₁₈ season saw Cardiff Blues produce a thrilling comeback to stun Dragons 43-29 at Arms Park.

The visitors raced into a 21-10 lead with tries from Adam Warren, Elliot Dee and George Gasson, but Blues weren’t ready to lie down and responded in emphatic style.

"It’s far and away the best game of the year. It more than makes up for the extra busyness between games during the festive period.
"One of the reasons I signed here was coming here on Boxing Day in the past and the crowd is brilliant." says @Hallam_Amos https://t.co/41dZV8Z9OR pic.twitter.com/UQtHICeeoY — Cardiff Blues (@cardiff_blues) December 24, 2019

Matthew Morgan (2), Tom James, Alex Cuthbert and Jarrod Evans all went over for Danny Wilson’s side in the second period - adding to Kristian Dacey’s earlier score - albeit Dragons rescued a bonus point thanks to Lloyd Fairbrother’s late try.

Defeat for Dragons - who had 31 squad players unavailable through injury - left the Gwent region winless in the competition in 26 games, and without a victory over a rival Welsh side since 2014.

Patchell’s points steal win

Dragons were 17-6 up and cruising towards victory with only 20 minutes to go at Rodney Parade in December 2015, only for Blues to snatch victory 21-20 in dramatic fashion.

Dorian Jones’ boot added to Ashton Hewitt’s early try to put the Newport-based side in command, but a penalty try set Blues on their way and Tom James went over to close the gap to two points with five minutes left on the clock.