Former Scarlets full-back Dan Evans capped his league debut for the Dragons with a brace whilst further first half scores came from Andy Tuilagi and Will Harries.

From the opening exchanges it was one way traffic and the impressive Tom Prydie kicked the hosts ahead with a penalty after ten minutes.

Tuilagi grabbed the evening's opening try, capping off a powerful few minutes for the Samoan centre.

Steffan Jones kept the scoreboard kicking over with a drop-goal but the next try shortly followed with Will Harries touching down after a break from Prydie.

Fly-half Luciano Orquera grabbed a penalty back for the visitors but his side were struggling to contain the Dragons and missed the experienced duo Marco Bortolami and Mauro Bergamasco in their first league outing.

The hosts were a constant threat in attack and looked to have benefited from a strong pre-season, as they hit the ground running in competitive action.

Evans crossed for his first try before Orquera responded with a second penalty for the visitors. It was the hosts though who had the last word of the first half with Evans grabbing his second.

A stronger second half display from the Zebre's kept the score down and the only points of the second period came from a second Prydie penalty.

Darren Edwards' men will head to Dublin to face Leinster next weekend full of confidence from a display built around their defensive effort.