A hat-trick from from Richard Hibbard wasn't enough to get the Dragons anything in their PRO14 clash with Connacht at Rodney Parade.
The former Wales hooker forced his way over the line on three separate occasions, but the visitors still managed to come away with a bonus point victory over Dean Ryan's men in an evenly-poised clash.
Sam Davies had opened the scoring after just four minutes - knocking over a simple penalty after an early infringement from the visitors.
However, it wouldn't take long for Connacht to hit back.
Jack Carty's cross-kick provided Matt Healy with perhaps the easiest of his 32 tries for the Irish province to date after 10 minutes - diving over untouched after catching the kick-pass mere inches from the line.
Six minutes later, they had another - with a smart lineout move working some space for the intimidating Abraham Papali'i to run into. He didn't need a second invitation, running over hapless tacklers to score.
It would be former Wales hooker Hibbard, making his 50th appearance for the Dragons, who would drag the home side back into proceedings.
A brace of well-worked tries from lineout drives helped the hosts regain the lead.
However, a Carty penalty right on the stroke of half-time sent the two teams into the Rodney Parade sheds all square.
It was the visitors struck first in the second-half, with scrum-half Caolin Blade sniping over after a solid lineout drive.
The successful driving mauls showed no signs of abating - with Hibbard the next to profit shortly after to bring up his hat-trick and level the scored once more.
With the game finely poised, it was anyone's guess who would take the initiative next.
As it turned out, it would be the visitors who chalked up the bonus point after Tom Daly got over shortly after the hour mark.
A scruffy drop goal from Carty gave Connacht some scoreboard security as they headed into the final ten minutes.
The Dragons searched in vain for a losing bonus point as the match neared its climax, but their efforts fell agonisingly short.
Scorers
Dragons - Tries: R. Hibbard; Cons: S. Davies; Pens: S. Davies
Connacht - Tries: M. Healy, A. Papali'i, C. Blade, T. Daly; Cons: J. Carty (2); Pens: J. Carty; Drop goal: J. Carty
