Fly-half Craig Warlow booted 18 points as the Dragons comfortably beat Worcester whose first taste of Welsh opposition ended in failure.

But it was a pretty meaningless result as neither side could reach the semi-finals of the Powergen Cup because of previous results.

The Dragons eased into a 17-0 lead after only 19 minutes but then took their foot off the pedal as they squandered further opportunities and relied on the boot of Warlow, who kicked four penalties and three conversions.

Prop Adam Black got the first Dragons try after Wales lock Ian Gough won a line-out and then Scotland forward Andrew Hall barged over from close in.

Worcester retaliated through a brilliant solo try by winger Aisea Havili who shot away on a 70-yard run after a Dragons scrum was wheeled. Fly-half James Brown, who landed an earlier penalty, converted.

But the Dragons had the final word with an injury-time penalty try awarded when Worcester illegally brought down a scrum as they were pushed back over their own line.

The victory proved an ideal dress rehearsal for the Dragons for their daunting back-to-back Heineken cup matches against Munster.

But the match was marred by two injuries, one to a player and to the referee.

Dragons leading try scorer, winger Gareth Wyatt, dislocated an elbow near the interval and will be out until the new year.

Referee Neil Ballard had to leave the field after 55 minutes with a hamstring strain and was replaced by WRU colleague Gareth Simmons.