Cardiff Rugby 29
Dragons 24
JJ HANRAHAN KICKED 14 points for the Dragons but ended up on the losing side as Cardiff snatched victory in a pulsating URC Welsh derby at Rodney Parade.
A 79th minute try from Corey Domachowski clinched the win for Cardiff with Jarrod Evans, who came on for Rhys Priestland in the 32nd minute, adding the conversion to seal a five-point success.
Cardiff were ahead 14-11 at half-time with Tomos Williams and Josh Adams both getting in for first-half tries that Evans converted.
Hanrahan had kicked Dragons into a 6-0 advantage with a pair of early penalties, while Rio Dyer notched their try.
A third Cardiff try arrived in the 51st minute courtesy of Williams, his second of the game. Hanrahan and Evans swapped penalties to leave it 22-14 in Cardiff’s favour on the hour mark.
But then Dragons fought back with Harrison Keddie bagging a try that Hanrahan converted and then the Kerry native nudged his team in front, 24-22, in the 71st minute.
Yet Domachowski proved the Cardiff hero with his late intervention.
The other Welsh derby was not such an even contest, Ospreys putting the gloss on a comfortable evening with a late try from Keiran Williams as they secured a bonus point win with a 34-14 triumph over Scarlets.