Jason Tovey kicks Newport to victory over second-placed Leinster

Leinster missed a golden opportunity to go top of the Guinness Pro12 after they were beaten 23-13 at strugglers Newport Gwent Dragons.

Fly-half Jason Tovey dictated the match as his 18 points ensured the Dragons secured a richly-deserved fourth league win of the campaign.

Tovey went through the card with a try, two penalties, a drop goal and two conversions, while wing Ashton Hewitt got Newport's other try.

Leinster's Fergus McFadden booted two penalties and converted scrum-half Luke McGrath's try but the Irish side failed to usurp Scarlets at the top of the Pro12 table.

Leinster lead for 20 minutes of the first half but it was the Dragons who dominated possession and territory in that time.

As it was, in the driving rain, the Welsh region went in 17-10 ahead. Hewitt, who had a storming first-half performance opened the scoring for the Dragons after he raced past McFadden and prop Michael Bent to touch down.

Leinster soon took the lead however. First McFadden slotted a penalty to get Leinster on the board before scrum-half McGrath caught Newport asleep, the visitors capitalising on their first substantial attack inside the home 22.

There was a great snaffle on the floor from the visiting back row before Irish scrum-half McGrath picked up the loose ball 20 metres out and drove through a gap in the Dragons' defence to cross under the posts, giving McFadden the easiest of conversions.

That was as much as Leinster got before the break however as the home region hammered them in their own 22. Yet it took 20 minutes and two ruled-out tries from third match official Tim Haynes before the home side went into the lead again.

Hewitt went over on the right after a Tovey cross-kick but there were hands in a ruck in the build-up resulting in play being called back.

Then centre Adam Warren threw himself after a loose ball bouncing over the Leinster line only for McGrath to get pressure on the ball a split second beforehand.

However, after several attacking line-outs and a yellow card for Leinster flanker Dan Leavy, the defence finally cracked as Tovey was put over by quick hands on the right from props Boris Stankovich, Brok Harris and finally a Rynard Landman overhead pass.

Tovey converted and then produced a 20-metre drop goal to end the first forty, with Newport looking good for their half-time advantage.

Leinster came out fighting after the interval and McFadden secured his second penalty of the night from 25 metres with the Irishmen now beginning to exert territorial pressure of ther own.

The visitors mirrored the home side's pressure in the right-hand corner of the pitch and came within inches of a second try but the Dragons defence held firm and cleared their lines.

And, when Leinster put their hands in a subsequent ruck, Tovey booted his first penalty to restore the seven-point advantage.

The Irishmen were dealt a further blow when McFadden was sin-binned with nine minutes left for a dangerous tackle on Sarel Pretorius when the latter was on the ground.

That was to be the final nail in Leinster's coffin as a final Tovey penalty denied the Irishmen even the consolation of a losing bonus point.