Dragons flanker Colin Charvis is tackled by Ospreys 10 James Hook

Ospreys (6) 16
Try: A Brew Con: Hook Pens: Hook 2 DG: Marshall

Dragons (3) 3
Pen: Tovey

The Ospreys moved 10 points clear of Newport Gwent Dragons with a scrappy Magners League win in Swansea.

The two sides do meet again on 6 May, but this result in all probabability condemns the Dragons to, at best, a play-off for a Heineken Cup place.

A late try from Ospreys wing Aled Brew proved decisive, although there was clearly a forward pass in the build-up.

Rhodri Gomer Davies was stretchered off with what seemed a serious neck injury, but the Dragons centre soon recovered.

Dragons prop Adam Black took the field to become the first player to make 100 appearances in the Celtic League.

Down the other end of the experience spectrum was the visitors' rookie fly-half Jason Tovey making his senior debut in the Magners League.

The 18-year-old was preferred at fly-half in place of Ceri Sweeney, who had a rib injury, on the day it was announced that the 35-cap Wales back would be joining Cardiff Blues next season.

Tovey, left-footed, gave the visitors an early lead with his only penalty chance of the half.

James Hook struck two penalties in reply that gave the Ospreys a slim 6-3 lead at the break, but was wide with two more relatively straight-forward kicks.

The hosts enjoyed the lion's share of possession but were unable to summon the required quality to reach the Dragons' try line, even when the Gwent side lost flanker Richard Parks to the sin-bin on 31 minutes for a tackle off the ball.

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The Ospreys were also hampered by the early injury withdrawal of wing Shane Williams with a reported dead leg, Wales' record try scorer replaced by Aled Brew.

Andrew Bishop almost claimed a much-needed try four minutes after the restart, only for Gomer Davies' flying cover tackle to push the Ospreys centre against the corner flag.

But Gomer Davies' bravery in the tackle was to cost him soon after, as he took on the considerably bigger Ospreys back-row Filo Tiatia head-on.

The Dragons inside centre suffered a heavy knock and the game was halted for 12 minutes as the medical staff dealt carefully with what seemed to be a worrying neck injury.

Dragons centre Rhodri Gomer Davies' injury was not as serious as first feared

Gomer Davies was stretchered off in a neck brace as a precaution but thankfully recovered his senses in the dressing room and was able to watch the remainder of the game from the Dragons' bench.

Once play resumed, Justin Marshall chipped over a cheeky drop-goal to extend the Ospreys' lead to 9-3.

A second Dragons player entered the sin-bin when Luke Charteris was carded for a late tackle on Hook as the Ospreys 10 chased his chip ahead.

But the Dragons were back up to full strength by the time Brew secured the win for the Ospreys with a try eight minutes from the end.

Even then it took referee Tim Hayes and his fellow officials to miss an outrageously forward pass from Hook to set Lee Byrne through the line, the full-back handing on to Brew to finish off.

Hook added the difficult touch-line conversion from tight on the right, the 16-3 score ensuring the Dragons were denied even the small comfort of a losing bonus point.