The Dragons finished the first half just ahead thanks to centre Ashley Smith's late try, Aled Thomas adding a conversion to his earlier penalty.

The Blues had twice led as fly-half Ben Patston kicked two penalties, but there was no more scoring after half-time.

Dragons coach Paul Turner said: "We have a lot of work to do."

The Dragons begin their season next Saturday with a trip to take on Llanelli Scarlets at Stradey Park in the Magners League.

"It is a huge week for us now if we want to get a result at Stradey Park," added Turner, speaking to the region's website.

"Bedford taught us a lesson and a lot of egos have been damaged, but we have got to bounce back.

"The watching crowd must have been frustrated but our problems lay at the set piece, which was not good enough."