NEWPORT Gwent Dragons head coach Paul Turner hailed the mental strength of his players after an heroic 9-8 victory over Magners League high-fliers Edinburgh at Murrayfield.

The rain poured down all day in the Scottish capital but a gutsy display ensured the Dragons didn’t sink without trace.

Three penalties from fly-half James Arlidge build a 9-0 lead at the break before a heroic defensive effort sealed the four points that mean they are the top-ranked Welsh region going into the autumn break.

“Driving to the ground today there were floods all around and I just sensed that the attitude was spot on,” said Turner. “We had a kick up the backside against the Scarlets when our attitude wasn’t right – you can’t just turn up and win, you have to earn it.

“We talked about heaping a load of pressure on Edinburgh early on. It’s a strange stadium when there are not many people here and it went very quiet.

“We took our chances and then had to defend hard, we knew that they would throw the kitchen sink at us but we stood up to them.

“It was all about accuracy and attitude – our desire led to the victory.”

The Dragons took to the field with a patched-up side and a long list of absentees, but all 20 players who got on the field were superb.

Turner said: “We came here without a lot of players – Luke Charteris, Dan Lydiate, Tom Willis, Ashley Smith, Joe Bearman and we have our front-row crisis – but those who did play were magnificent.

“There were a few hair-raising moments and we should have wrapped it up at the end and denied them a losing bonus point (when debutant Toby Faletau knocked on with the line at his mercy), but we dug deep for the win.

“I felt this type of win could have happened earlier in the season against Leinster in Dublin, but we are more than happy to take it now.”