It was another frustrating Magners League encounter for Connacht at Rodney Parade last evening as a stoppage-time try denied them a bonus point as they chased victory. The visitors were trailing 16-10 in the final quarter and piled on the pressure in the closing minutes but in the end left without even a point as number eight Joe Bearman pounced on turnover ball to sprint down the right wing and score in the corner.

It was rough justice on a Connacht side who battled hard throughout and looked like they would secure a result. But a penalty count of 12-4 to the Dragons told its own story as hard yards were regularly coughed up with penalties given away.

Connacht suffered a blow before a ball was kicked as outside centre Niva Ta'auso was forced to cry off with a hand injury picked up in training during the week. And the Dragons got a good start as James Arlidge got them off the mark after three minutes with a penalty from 37 metres.

Connacht just could not get out of their own half and they paid the price after Gavin Duffy did superbly to deny Tom Riley over the line, but from the resultant five-metre scrum, Bearman played a superb reverse pass which put James Harris over for a good try. Arlidge added the extras to make it 10-0 but just when it seemed the home side would pull away, Connacht hit back.

A series of attacks looked to have yielded a try for Conor O'Loughlin after Keith Matthews had forced a turnover but TMO Tony Rowlands did not award the score after surveying it for over three minutes. But the pressure eventually paid off five minutes before the break when O'Loughlin fed Miah Nikora off a scrum and the out-half skirted through two tackles to touch down under the posts, before adding the points.

There was a let-off for Connacht directly after the restart when Arlidge screwed a penalty wide from just to the left of the posts on the 22, while at the other end Nikora was off target with a drop-goal attempt which would have made him the first ever player to score in every way in a match for Connacht in the competition.

The experienced Shaun Connor replaced Arlidge but he was off target with a penalty from 25 metres. But with Connacht continuing to give away penalties it was not long before Connor had another opportunity and he did well to land a kick from 37 metres on the right wing after Connacht were penalised for going off their feet after 26 minutes.

Shaun Connor extended Dragons' lead from 37 metres on the right wing after Connacht were penalised for going off their feet yet again after 66 minutes. And while Gavin Duffy, Keith Matthews and Troy Nathan threatened a lot from deep, the Dragons defended well and prevented any line busts.

Yet, as they game slipped into stoppage time with the Dragons leading 16-10, Connacht continued to come forward but in the end they left without even the consolation of a bonus point.

N-g Dragons M Thomas; A Brew, T Riley, A Smith, R Fussell; J Arlidge, D Lee; H Gustafson, S Jones, G Robinson; A Jones, L Charteris; D Lydiate, J Harris, J Bearman Subs N Hall for Robinson, 46 mins; H McDonald for Harris, 50 mins; S Connor for Arlidge, 51 mins; W Evans for Lee, 60 mins.

Connacht G Duffy; B Tuohy, T Nathan, K Matthews, L Bibo; M Nikora, C O'Loughlin; R Loughney, S Cronin, J Hagan; M Swift, B Upton; M McCarthy, J O'Connor, J Muldoon Subs B Wilkinson for Loughney, 53 mins; F Murphy for O'Loughlin, 60 mins; I Keatley for Nikora, 70 mins; A Browne for Swift, 77 mins

Referee P Fitzgibbon (Ireland)