Taulupe Faletau inspires Cardiff derby win
Taulupe Faletau made a try-scoring return from injury as Cardiff beat Dragons 24-17 in the Welsh derby.
The Wales number eight, on his first appearance of the season following a calf injury, took just 13 minutes to make his mark.
Dragons were looking for a first win over Cardiff in over a decade but got off to a bad start when Alex Mann was pushed over by the visiting pack after just 58 seconds.
They hit back five minutes later and led by two points following Brodie Coughlan’s try and Tinus de Beer’s conversion.
But Faletau’s try handed the initiative back to Cardiff and Dan Thomas became the third member of the back-row trio to score as they forged 10 points ahead at half-time.
Prop Danny Southworth’s score just after the hour mark secured the bonus point for Cardiff before Ben Carter’s try and a late Angus O’Brien penalty gave the Dragons fans something to cheer in an underwhelming second half.
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You’ve got to feel for Dragons fans. Cardiff are churning out some good results while not necessarily fully firing (also losing their coach 2 days prior to the start of the season). Good on them.