HEINEKEN CUP PLAY-OFF Dragons (15) 15 Tries: Black (2), Chapman Overmach Parma (13) 24 Tries: Pascu, Emerick Con: Mazzariol Pens: Mazzariol (3) DG: Galon Att: 6,000

The home side scored three first-half tries, a short-range brace from Adam Black and a fine Gareth Chapman effort.

But they were pegged back by a superb 75m Liviu Pascu try and the kicking of fly-half Francesco Mazzariol.

An unanswered second-half Mazzariol kick, Ezio Galon drop and Paul Emerick try left the Dragons the first Welsh region not to make the Heineken Cup.

The cash-strapped Gwent region will now play in the European Challenge Cup next season.

Parma, who qualified for the play-off at Rodney Parade by finishing as the third-best team in the Italian Championship, have given Italy a third team in the Heineken Cup for the first time.

The supporters will be disappointed but having to play in the Challenge Cup is not a big deal to me Dragons coach Paul Turner More Dragons reaction

Facing a strong Dragons side including Wales tourists Haldane Luscombe, Nathan Brew, Rhys Thomas, Luke Charteris, Ian Gough and Jamie Ringer, they showed they were not over-matched by opening the scoring with a Francesco Mazzariol penalty.

The man-of-the-match missed a simple chance to double that, before a well-worked Dragons driving line-out gave prop Black the opening try.

With the pressure mounting Parma began to kill the ball, and tight-head Fabio Staibano was sin-binned.

The home side turned the screw with a series of driving mauls, Black emerging from the bottom of one to complete an unlikely try brace for the loose-head.

The Dragons fired back into the Parma 22, but lost the ball and saw it spread to Pascu.

SCRUM V VIEW I'm afraid this is another step along the road towards the total meltdown of the so-called Regional Rugby Concept in Wales NHSLAD Scrum V: Have your say

There seemed little danger, but the open-side flanker saw forwards in front of him and had the audacity to throw a dummy - and the pace to sprint home.

Mazzariol's conversion levelled the game, before the fly-half regained the lead for his side with a 35th-minute penalty.

Blind-side wing Brew then opened up the Italians, looping onto Craig Warlow's pass in midfield and finding a gap.

The Wales tourist fed Gareth Wyatt, who sent right wing Gareth Chapman clear in the corner.

Warlow missed his third conversion, but his side's slender half-time lead was preserved as Mazzariol fluffed a simple injury-time penalty attempt, and another 40m shot at goal after the interval.

But the Italian fly-half made no mistake from a 50th-minute effort in front of the posts to give his side a one-point advantage.

The Dragons booted a kickable penalty to the corner, but failed to score from a series of short-range driving mauls.

The visitors then stretched their lead to four with a superbly struck Ezio Galon drop goal.

Rugby's growing in Italy and this will get a big reception in Parma, there'll be a lot of very happy people Parma full-back Paul Emerick

Luscombe - playing his last Dragons game by special permission ahead of a move to Harlequins - went off stunned after a heavy tackle from Robert Barbieri, a worry as he is due to join Wales in Argentina on Saturday.

Lacking adventure and vision, the home team rarely threatened as they went chasing the game.

An 87th-minute turnover allowed USA Eagles full-back Emerick in for the closing try, leaving Rodney Parade echoing to the boos of its long-suffering fans.