WORCESTER Warriors’ Anglo-Welsh Cup campaign came to an end as they went down 33-27 to Dragons at Rodney Parade.

But they made their more experienced opponents work hard for their victory as a plucky Warriors side led three times.

Hooker Kurt Haupt, centre Dean Hammond and wing Tom Howe went over for Warriors while Sam Olver did not miss a kick at goal.

But a late try from Tyler Morgan sealed Sam Vesty’s young side’s fate as Pool Three winners Northampton Saints secured their place in the semi-finals with a 36-10 win over Harlequins.

Warriors arrived in South Wales needing a victory to keep their hopes of progressing to the last four alive.

And they could not have got off to a better start. With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Ben Howard collected a pass from Luke Baldwin before bursting through the heart of Dragons’ defence.

The full-back then picked out Kurt Haupt who brilliantly gathered the ball and crashed over in the corner. Olver added the extras to give Warriors a 7-0 lead.

The early try was a wake-up call for Dragons who then forced Worcester to defend their try-line before Ben Howard was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.

And the hosts quickly made their numerical advantage count as they secured the ball at the line-out before Jarryd Sage slipped through to score near the posts.

Zane Kirchner converted to level the tie.

Shortly after Howard returned to the field, Dragons grabbed another try on 20 minutes thanks to a stunning run from Ashton Hewitt.

The full-back collected the ball on halfway before leaving Warriors’ player trailing in his wake as he speed through and touched down, which Kirchner improved with a conversion.

But Warriors refused to be overawed and hit back six minutes later. Matt Cox made ground before 18-year-old Ollie Lawrence fed Dean Hammond who powered over from close range.

Olver made the simple conversion before landing a long-range penalty kick to edge Warriors ahead at 17-14 on the half hour mark.

Worcester then spent the next 10 minutes under the pump, but Dragons’ faltering set piece let them off the hook as the away side hung on until half-time.

But just three minutes into the second period Sage kicked the ball in behind, Howard fumbled and Kirchner was on hand to finish.

Kirchner was unable to follow it up with a conversion and Warriors made him pay for it as they regained the lead.

After mounting heavy pressure, Tom Howe managed to wriggle his way through, escaping a couple of tackles before going over.

Olver converted before slotting home a three-pointer moments later to extend Warriors’ advantage to 27-19.

But just shy of the 60-minute mark Dragons cut back the deficit as replacement Sarel Pretorius smashed his way in under the posts.

Kirchner added an easy two points to get the Welsh outfit within one point of Warriors.

Looking to shore up the scrum, tighthead prop Nick Schonert made a welcome return from injury.

But Dragons’ pressure soon told as Morgan latched onto a kick through from Kirchner and dotted down. Kirchner added the extras.

The fly-half missed a penalty late on, but the home side finished on the front foot to see out the victory.